On July 26th, Salud por Derecho organized its fourth breakfast conversation with researchers as part of the Catalytic Project at the Severo Ochoa Biomolecular Research Center in Madrid.
These small gatherings provide a space for informal conversation among members of the scientific community to discuss the weaknesses of the current health R&D model and propose possible solutions. These inputs will later be gathered in a report that will be used to support Salud por Derecho’s advocacy and dialogue meetings with decision makers involved in the design, implementation and monitoring of health R&D and innovation policy at both the Spanish and European levels.
To date, Salud por Derecho has held one experts’ working group and four breakfast conversations in Madrid and Barcelona with the goal of engaging members of civil society and the biomedical research community in the definition of principles and practices that should guide the health innovation system. Through these conversations, a small group of dedicated collaborators has emerged that work closely with Salud por Derecho in writing articles, identifying associations and conferences to promote this debate, and organizing similar conversations in their own research centers. We have also developed communication materials such as our Catalytic Brochure that help to frame the conversation and provide background arguments for our action.
Taking advantage of the opportunities available through the Horizon 2020 process which will be implemented starting in January 2014 and the current debates taking place at the international level as a result of the WHO’s Consultative Expert Working Group (CEWG) report, we hope to push forward similar debates at the local and European levels that can help to reenergize activism around the movement to promote a needs-driven and affordable innovation framework that ultimately ensures access to biomedical products.
For more information about how to get involved in the Catalytic Project, please click here.
