Third-World Vaccine Development Plan Stalls

Read the full article online: "Third-World Vaccine Development Plan Stalls: Positions of France, U.S. Means Endorsement Unlikely During G-8 Summit" By Michael M. Phillips, The Wall Street Journal via The Washington Post, July 7, 2006.

In February, G-8 finance ministers, including then-U.S. Treasury Secretary John W. Snow, endorsed a novel, business-friendly plan to persuade drug companies to develop vaccines for killer diseases in the Third World. Under the plan, the G-8 would guarantee a market for pharmaceuticals companies that create successful vaccines. Despite lobbying from the United States, Italy and Britain, it now seems unlikely that the G-8 will endorse the proposal next weekend in St. Petersburg, Russia, at their annual summit.

According to Phillips' article:

The proposal "is kind of trembling on the cusp," said a senior official with direct knowledge of the G-8 vaccine discussions. "It is now in substantial danger of flopping even though there is an extraordinary level of support among some key stakeholders."

France now has refused to endorse the vaccine proposal unless the United States backs a French proposal for a new international airline-ticket tax to pay for aid to poor countries, and the Bush administration has refused to do so.

Now would be a good time to lobby for passage of the proposal!