Promoting research and development

49  Expand opportunities for production staff of local drug manufacturers to include practical training which would complement the theoretical training provided by academic institutions. Such type of training is amenable to both north-south and south-south cooperation, since several developing countries are no home to advanced industries that could provide training opportunities to nationals of developing countries.  WHO technical experts can work with private-sector companies to design and make a aila le odula pa kages fo lo al p odu tio fa ilities suited fo de elopi g ou t ies, including advanced formulation facilities. WHO can work with the World Bank to design a financing package for such facilities.

4. Transfer of technology

 Better, stronger and wider dissemination of needs and required procedures -- International health donors and government agencies should send clearer signals to product developers about the products they wish to buy, the technical standards that have to be met, and approval and procurement procedures which need to be followed. This is particularly true for diagnostics where product needs and assessment procedures have not been properly well defined at different levels.  Capacity building on how to negotiate effective technology transfer agreements may be useful, particularly for firms with limited experience in this area. 5. Application and management of intellectual property to contribute to innovation and promote public health  Ongoing efforts in training national drug regulatory authorities and policy makers on how to implement TRIPS in a manner that protects public health and expands the space for local production should be strongly supported and continued.

6. Improving delivery and access

 Countries need to streamline their system for regulating pharmaceutical and biotechnology RD needs, and strengthen their systems and capacity for evaluating new technologies. At the same time, international systems for assessing and e o e di g p odu ts, espe iall WHO s p e ualification program for diagnostics need to be expanded so they can handle more products more rapidly.