Week 11 - TED Talks #1

Hi everyone! This week, we were able to watch TED Talks in class about patents, and our discussions were actually lead by two of our very own students (great job Mo & Abbey)! Was really interesting to see how the topics that we have discussed in class are coming to fruition in the real world.

Personally, I have been a huge fan of the TED Talks for a long time. I love that experts in a field are able to speak freely in an open forum on whatever topic they feel they know best, where new topics and conversations can be started just by a simple 10-15 minute talk! Patents have never really been a focus of mine when searching for TED Talks, but for these blog posts, I am going to be reviewing specific TED Talks that I really liked regarding patents here on the blog.

First TED Talk: 

This talk was led by Ellen 't Hoen - find her social media links below:

She is the founder of Medicines Patent Pool, where she specializes in the intersection between medicine and law - patents!! She particularly takes a strong stance with medical patents, and is one of the most influential people in the patent world, where she's gotten a lot of recognition from her peers and academia. Ellen is all about ensuring that these life-saving medical patents are available to those in third-world countries who cannot afford the TENS OF THOUSANDS of dollars that these medicines cost! She is the advocate for the everyman - and I really love that! It's great to know that people like her are working towards a more equal world to license these patents to allow for a more affordable option to those with less income.

Here's her quick bio if anyone is interested:

"Ellen ’t Hoen is an independent medicines law and policy consultant. In 2009, she founded the Medicines Patent Pool at WHO/UNITAID, to accelerate the availability of low-cost HIV treatments, especially antiretroviral medicines, in developing countries through patent licensing. In June 2012 she stepped down from the MPP, but remains involved in supporting it.

She is a research fellow at the IS HIV/AIDS Academy of the University of Amsterdam and authored the book The Global Politics of Pharmaceutical Monopoly Power. Drug patents, access, innovation and the application of the WTO Doha Declaration on TRIPS and Public Health. It's available as a free download .

Before founding MPP, from 1999 until 2009 she was the Director of Policy and Advocacy at Médecins sans Frontières’ (MSF) Campaign for Access to Essential Medicines. She won several awards for her work on the effects of exposure to the drug (DES) in the 1980s and 1990s, including the prestigious Harriet Freezerring award in 1989. She is a member of the World Health Organization’s Expert Advisory Panel on Drug Policies and Management and a member of the advisory board of Universities Allied for Essential Medicines (UAEM)."