The OECD’s Health Project will culminate at a mid-May
ministerial, where a final report, to which BIAC has contributed its views over
the past three years, will be disseminated to senior health officials from
industrialized nations.
Launched in 2001, the Health Project focused on measuring
and analyzing the performance of health care systems in OECD countries, with
the goal of assisting policy makers to formulate evidence-based policies to
improve their health systems' performance.
At the May meeting, health ministers will review the key
outcomes of the project and discuss the main health policy challenges for the
coming years. In addition, the OECD has
invited BIAC to participate in a formal consultation with health
ministers. The consultation will focus
on prevention and high-quality care, and ensuring the financial sustainability
and cost-effectiveness of health systems.
BIAC will also participate in a forum at this year’s OECD
Forum on research and innovation in health care. Through its Health Care Working Group, USCIB has been actively
engaged in developing BIAC’s positions and policy statements for these key
meetings.
More
information on the OECD’s health ministerial is available at www.oecd.org/healthmin2004.
BIAC Biotech Experts to Meet at BIO 2004 – This
June, for the third year in a row, the BIAC Biotechnology Committee will
convene its summer meeting back-to-back with the Biotechnology Industry
Organization (BIO) convention, to be held this year in San Francisco. BIO 2004 provides a forum to learn about the
latest advancements in research and business overseas. Thousands of participants from at least 60
countries will be represented at the event, offering BIAC valuable
opportunities for increasing its visibility.
A highlight of the BIAC meeting will be a discussion with Michael Osborne, OECD’s director of
multi-disciplinary issues and the OECD Futures project, which has incorporated
a strong focus on biotechnology into its work program. Participants will also discuss follow-up work
on health and on industrial biotechnology recommended by OECD science
ministers, as well as the future priorities for OECD work in the areas of food
and environment.
