BIO Deutschland visits Geneva as part of delegation
In its role as the collective voice of the international biotechnology industry, the International Council of Biotechnology Associations (ICBA) organised its fourth delegation trip to Geneva. Many organisations, such as the World Trade Organization (WTO), the World Health Organization (WHO), the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) and the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) have their headquarters in Geneva. Here, delegates from the United States, Belgium, Germany and the United Kingdom again met with representatives from numerous countries as well as partner NGOs and important opinion leaders. Key topics discussed this year included the proposed TRIPS Waiver and the twelfth WTO Ministerial Conference (MC12), which is slated to be held in November. The possible outcomes of this conference pose significant risks to innovation, as the inclusion of intellectual property rights in an agreement is now seen as crucial (editor’s note: MC12 has since been cancelled due to pandemic-related reasons, and no new date for rescheduling has been given yet). The issue is highly politicised, making the voice of industry secondary in the discussions. The aim of the trip was also to establish a presence in Geneva as an advocate for primarily small and medium-sized biotechnology companies, and to forge lasting contacts with decision-makers in Geneva. BIO Deutschland is a founding member of the ICBA, which was established in 2014 and is currently headed by the United Kingdom and Germany. Further information on the ICBA can be found here: https://internationalbiotech.org/