Free the Vaccine for Covid-19!

While school was out this summer UAEM students at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) led by Kayla Gu, continued to pressure the institution's leadership to protect patient access to Xtandi, the life-saving prostate cancer medicine developed on the campus with taxpayer dollars. 

UAEMers Savanna Harris and Jasmine Tatah, spoke truth to power at the institution's Board of Regents meeting in San Francisco where they urged the Regents to address student concerns and drop the patent claim on the drug in India. This was UAEM's third consecutive appearance in front of the UC regents, signaling that the students would not be backing down with their asks to protect patient access. 

In the next 2 weeks, UAEM students, supporters and allies will deliver our petition with over 3000 signatures urging UCLA to drop its patent claim in order to allow for a more affordable, generic version to enter the market and helping to increase urgent access to the people who need it most. If you haven't already added your name, you can do so here!

This is of course just one update from many pressing campaigns and initiatives being led by students at over 100 universities in 20 countries around the globe. Your support makes a difference to our work and we're continually grateful for your commitment to a world where access to medicines is a right not a privilege. Thank you.

Thanks to support from donors like you, in the last three months, UAEM's newly launched #TakeBackXtandi campaign has been making headlines and increasing pressure on the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), urging them to drop their patent claim on a life-saving prostate cancer drug developed at the university with tax-payers dollars.

Although this drug (brand name Xtandi) does not have a patent in India where prostate cancer is among the top ten types of cancer, UCLA has now filed a patent claim with Delhi High court, obstructing the introduction of an affordable generic competitor. In other words, UCLA's actions would prevent many cancer patients from accessing a life-saving medicine. This is alarming in that UCLA, which developed the drug with public funding, is now acting at the behest of pharmaceutical corporations rather than to the patients this drug was intended to treat.

Further, due to decisions made by the university the drug is already being sold to patients in the United States for $147,000 per annual treatment - which is more than two to four times the price in other high income countries such as Canada and the United Kingdom.

UAEM students however have been taking a stand. Kayla, a medical student from UCLA, spoke up at the Board of Regents meeting in March and signatures from individuals and organizations on an online petition have been growing (link included below). This past weekend we held a teach-in and panel discussion on the UCLA campus to rally support from students and faculty. Expect to hear more about this campaign as it builds across the campus through student organizing and off campus in the press! (You can read more about how UCLA is doing Big Pharma's dirty work in the accompanying links).

Thank you for your continued support of student-driven advocacy, it makes all the difference.

Links:

• Why is UCLA doing Big Pharma's work in India?
• Add your signature to tell UCLA to drop the patent claim!
• US Students urge UCLA to drop patent claim on cancer drug

Greetings! 

We are happy to report that 2017 ended on a happy and hopeful note for UAEM! We felt the love from all over the world, thanks to special people like you who gave generously, giving us strength in the knowledge that we are supported in our ambitious mission to achieve a more equitable world where access to medicines is a right, not a privilege! 

So far this year, our European team is plotting for its annual conference,to be held in Maastrict, the Netherlands and North American students held their leadership meeting earlier this month to plot their goals for their own student-driven campaigns.

At UAEM, we believe that universities can and must live up to their social missions.They must not allow themselves to fold to the interests of pharmaceutical shareholders - especially when people’s lives are in the balance. 2018 will be an amazing year for us, our student leaders are buzzing with excitement over fresh campaigning actions and keep raising awareness on the high-priced drug problem wherever, whenever. Over the next few months, local, regional and global meetings will take place, enabling our bright minds and motivated souls to collaborate together for more impact in their advocacy.

Thank you so much for believing in us, in our fight. Supporting the work of our awesome student leaders in 2018 is more important than ever. You are as much part of the story as they are! Spread the love (and word)!

Merci, Danke, Grazie, Gracias, Obrigada!