MEETING REPORT - International Workshop: Building (Bio) Pharmaceutical Systems in Developing Countries, United Nations University Institute for New Technologies (INTECH), Maastricht: 26-27 February 2003

In recent years inequalities between North and South have widened, and this shocking fact is particularly evident in recent conflicts over access to and availability of AIDS drugs in the developing world. The new pharma with its intense knowledge base, huge capital and protective global laws, oblige us to study the processes by which new drugs are created, diffused and protected, in order to generate policies and recommendations that assist developing countries. In this context, INTECH, an Institute belonging to the United Nations University system whose mandate is to conduct research and policy-oriented analyses and undertake capacity building in the area of new technologies, organized this seminar to examine experiences in (bio) pharma in different developing countries to assess the state of the art, cultural practices, innovation capabilities, legal systems on the drug industry, and derive conclusions on their chances to adapt or survive in the new globalized world.