Melissa Barber
@mbarber.bsky.social
Health economics, law, global health, and access to medicines.
https://melissajbarber.github.io. Views my own.
https://melissajbarber.github.io. Views my own.
Pinned
Melissa Barber
@mbarber.bsky.social
· Nov 12
As folks transition over from the other place, I've put together a list of folks tweeting on access to medicines #a2m and pharmaceutical policy.
It’s a work in progress, esp as ppl continue to trickle in—please feel free to message me if you know someone who shd be added.
go.bsky.app/RUEiXCa
It’s a work in progress, esp as ppl continue to trickle in—please feel free to message me if you know someone who shd be added.
go.bsky.app/RUEiXCa
The book is available for free / open access here:
academic.oup.com/book/61632
academic.oup.com/book/61632
Peak Pharma: Toward a New Political Economy of Health
Abstract. This book argues that we have reached the ‘peak’ of a particular model for pharmaceutical innovation—the neoliberal value model that has been in
academic.oup.com
February 2, 2026 at 11:39 AM
The book is available for free / open access here:
academic.oup.com/book/61632
academic.oup.com/book/61632
If you’re in London Wed 4 Feb (16:30–18:00), come to @kingscollegelondon.bsky.social to hear me and Courtney Davis discuss @susigeiger.bsky.social &
@theobourgeron.bsky.social new book "Peak Pharma".
Discussion + drinks after. Register here:
www.kcl.ac.uk/events/book-...
@theobourgeron.bsky.social new book "Peak Pharma".
Discussion + drinks after. Register here:
www.kcl.ac.uk/events/book-...
Book Launch - 'Peak Pharma: Toward a New Political Economy of Health' | King's College London
Join us for a book launch discussing the history, politics and prospective future of pharmaceutical markets.
www.kcl.ac.uk
February 2, 2026 at 11:39 AM
If you’re in London Wed 4 Feb (16:30–18:00), come to @kingscollegelondon.bsky.social to hear me and Courtney Davis discuss @susigeiger.bsky.social &
@theobourgeron.bsky.social new book "Peak Pharma".
Discussion + drinks after. Register here:
www.kcl.ac.uk/events/book-...
@theobourgeron.bsky.social new book "Peak Pharma".
Discussion + drinks after. Register here:
www.kcl.ac.uk/events/book-...
Alarming:
LLMs are vulnerable to ITI manipulation, compromising medical peer review integrity. ITI consistently inflated review scores & increased rates of acceptance recs from 0% to nearly 100%. Models obeyed malicious instructions despite detecting scientific flaws. jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...
LLMs are vulnerable to ITI manipulation, compromising medical peer review integrity. ITI consistently inflated review scores & increased rates of acceptance recs from 0% to nearly 100%. Models obeyed malicious instructions despite detecting scientific flaws. jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...
Invisible Text Injection and Peer Review by AI Models
This quality improvement study assesses the vulnerability of leading commercial large language models to invisible text injection manipulation in simulated medical peer review.
jamanetwork.com
February 2, 2026 at 11:32 AM
Alarming:
LLMs are vulnerable to ITI manipulation, compromising medical peer review integrity. ITI consistently inflated review scores & increased rates of acceptance recs from 0% to nearly 100%. Models obeyed malicious instructions despite detecting scientific flaws. jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...
LLMs are vulnerable to ITI manipulation, compromising medical peer review integrity. ITI consistently inflated review scores & increased rates of acceptance recs from 0% to nearly 100%. Models obeyed malicious instructions despite detecting scientific flaws. jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...
Reposted by Melissa Barber
I’ve turned the @mbarber.bsky.social starter pack into a dedicated list you can now add to your feeds, making it much easier to stay updated on #a2m content. #idsky #medsky #tbsky #EpiSky
bsky.app/profile/did:...
bsky.app/profile/did:...
As folks transition over from the other place, I've put together a list of folks tweeting on access to medicines #a2m and pharmaceutical policy.
It’s a work in progress, esp as ppl continue to trickle in—please feel free to message me if you know someone who shd be added.
go.bsky.app/RUEiXCa
It’s a work in progress, esp as ppl continue to trickle in—please feel free to message me if you know someone who shd be added.
go.bsky.app/RUEiXCa
January 15, 2026 at 5:13 AM
I’ve turned the @mbarber.bsky.social starter pack into a dedicated list you can now add to your feeds, making it much easier to stay updated on #a2m content. #idsky #medsky #tbsky #EpiSky
bsky.app/profile/did:...
bsky.app/profile/did:...
I don't envy anyone trying to write a 1200 words précis of all pharma policy, but begging folks to stop asserting that drug shortages are caused by too-low prices when there is very little empirical evidence supporting this (and much supporting other mechanisms).
jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...
jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...
In Search of Pharmaceutical Policy Innovation in the US
In the past few months, the US federal administration signaled the launch of a new project called TrumpRx that is intended to shake up the pharmaceutical marketplace, providing patients with cheaper d...
jamanetwork.com
January 16, 2026 at 8:46 PM
I don't envy anyone trying to write a 1200 words précis of all pharma policy, but begging folks to stop asserting that drug shortages are caused by too-low prices when there is very little empirical evidence supporting this (and much supporting other mechanisms).
jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...
jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...
Read the full report, but recs here: 4/4
December 15, 2025 at 9:08 PM
Read the full report, but recs here: 4/4
But the authors make a strong case that supply is more stable than many policy folks have assumed.
That’s good news for efforts to move faster on access to a growing pipeline of promising vaccines.
The bad news is that there is a thin margin for error if supply is interrupted. 3/4
That’s good news for efforts to move faster on access to a growing pipeline of promising vaccines.
The bad news is that there is a thin margin for error if supply is interrupted. 3/4
December 15, 2025 at 9:08 PM
But the authors make a strong case that supply is more stable than many policy folks have assumed.
That’s good news for efforts to move faster on access to a growing pipeline of promising vaccines.
The bad news is that there is a thin margin for error if supply is interrupted. 3/4
That’s good news for efforts to move faster on access to a growing pipeline of promising vaccines.
The bad news is that there is a thin margin for error if supply is interrupted. 3/4
The report is careful, even conservative, in its reassurances. The market for quillay vaccine products, derived from Chilean soapbark trees, is currently a monopoly and at best an oligopoly in the near term. 2/4
December 15, 2025 at 9:08 PM
The report is careful, even conservative, in its reassurances. The market for quillay vaccine products, derived from Chilean soapbark trees, is currently a monopoly and at best an oligopoly in the near term. 2/4
Fresh, sharp work out this week from @treatmentactiongroup.org and @dgotham.bsky.social on the adjuvant access landscape.
For years it’s been taken for granted that adjuvants would be a bottleneck for scaling up new TB and malaria vax.
1/4 💊🌐
www.treatmentactiongroup.org/publication/...
For years it’s been taken for granted that adjuvants would be a bottleneck for scaling up new TB and malaria vax.
1/4 💊🌐
www.treatmentactiongroup.org/publication/...
From Forest to Factory: Tracing the Supply Chains for Two Modern Adjuvants of Global Health Importance — QS-21 and MPL – Treatment Action Group
From Forest to Factory: Tracing the Supply Chains for Two Modern Adjuvants of Global Health Importance — QS-21 and MPL provides a first of its kind analysis of the global supply chains of two key adju...
www.treatmentactiongroup.org
December 15, 2025 at 9:08 PM
Fresh, sharp work out this week from @treatmentactiongroup.org and @dgotham.bsky.social on the adjuvant access landscape.
For years it’s been taken for granted that adjuvants would be a bottleneck for scaling up new TB and malaria vax.
1/4 💊🌐
www.treatmentactiongroup.org/publication/...
For years it’s been taken for granted that adjuvants would be a bottleneck for scaling up new TB and malaria vax.
1/4 💊🌐
www.treatmentactiongroup.org/publication/...
Protest art for the G20 in Johannesburg
November 19, 2025 at 3:04 PM
Protest art for the G20 in Johannesburg
Reposted by Melissa Barber
A report by the community-led monitoring group Ritshidze has shown that among 326 public health facilities surveyed by the team, 48% reported reduced capacity after the Pepfar disruptions that took place in early 2025. It spotlighted worrying trends of staff shortages, increased waiting times and...
Report spotlights ‘system-wide slide’ in basics for health facility standards after Pepfar cuts
www.dailymaverick.co.za
October 21, 2025 at 1:01 PM
A report by the community-led monitoring group Ritshidze has shown that among 326 public health facilities surveyed by the team, 48% reported reduced capacity after the Pepfar disruptions that took place in early 2025. It spotlighted worrying trends of staff shortages, increased waiting times and...
A sliver of good news:
"In a huge development concerning risdiplam litigation saga, a division bench of the Delhi High Court has rejected the appeal against the order refusing to grant an interim injunction to Roche."
Natco expected to launch affordable risdiplam today.
spicyip.com/2025/10/brea...
"In a huge development concerning risdiplam litigation saga, a division bench of the Delhi High Court has rejected the appeal against the order refusing to grant an interim injunction to Roche."
Natco expected to launch affordable risdiplam today.
spicyip.com/2025/10/brea...
Breaking: DHC Dismisses Roche’s Appeal in the Risdiplam Case
Image from here In a huge development concerning the Risdiplam litigation saga, a division bench of the Delhi High Court has rejected the appeal against the order refusing to grant an interim injun…
spicyip.com
October 9, 2025 at 10:47 AM
A sliver of good news:
"In a huge development concerning risdiplam litigation saga, a division bench of the Delhi High Court has rejected the appeal against the order refusing to grant an interim injunction to Roche."
Natco expected to launch affordable risdiplam today.
spicyip.com/2025/10/brea...
"In a huge development concerning risdiplam litigation saga, a division bench of the Delhi High Court has rejected the appeal against the order refusing to grant an interim injunction to Roche."
Natco expected to launch affordable risdiplam today.
spicyip.com/2025/10/brea...
I never saw starlings the entire time I lived in Geneva, but tonight the gift of an especially beautiful murmuration.
October 1, 2025 at 5:45 PM
I never saw starlings the entire time I lived in Geneva, but tonight the gift of an especially beautiful murmuration.
Reposted by Melissa Barber
DID YOU KNOW? Medical devices aren’t regulated in SA. The country's regulator has however started down a road that should eventually lead to the regulation of all medical devices.
www.spotlightnsp.co.za/2025/10/01/m...
www.spotlightnsp.co.za/2025/10/01/m...
Medical devices aren’t regulated in SA, but that is set to change
Unlike with medicines, and with a few exceptions, South Africa’s regulator does not assess whether diagnostic tests and other medical devices on the market are safe and work as they are supposed to. T...
www.spotlightnsp.co.za
October 1, 2025 at 7:46 AM
DID YOU KNOW? Medical devices aren’t regulated in SA. The country's regulator has however started down a road that should eventually lead to the regulation of all medical devices.
www.spotlightnsp.co.za/2025/10/01/m...
www.spotlightnsp.co.za/2025/10/01/m...
Tariffs on pharmaceuticals are set to go into effect in 4 days. MSF submitted a response to the Department of Commerce's request for comment on the Section 232 investigation that is the underlying justification for the tariffs.
Full comment here: bit.ly/MSFpharmatar...
Full comment here: bit.ly/MSFpharmatar...
September 26, 2025 at 4:11 PM
Tariffs on pharmaceuticals are set to go into effect in 4 days. MSF submitted a response to the Department of Commerce's request for comment on the Section 232 investigation that is the underlying justification for the tariffs.
Full comment here: bit.ly/MSFpharmatar...
Full comment here: bit.ly/MSFpharmatar...
Reposted by Melissa Barber
Our work on the mental health of health workers in Gaza is now out in @plosglobalpublichealth.org. The findings are not surprising - health workers were being terrorized from the beginning of the genocide (data from December 2023- Jan 2024 peer review is slow).
journals.plos.org/globalpublic...
journals.plos.org/globalpublic...
Displacement, personal loss, and psychological strain among physicians and nurses working in Gaza, 2023–2024
On January 26th 2024, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) recognized plausible grounds for genocide being committed in Gaza by Israel. A hallmark of the violence has been unprecedented attacks on...
journals.plos.org
September 11, 2025 at 1:38 PM
Our work on the mental health of health workers in Gaza is now out in @plosglobalpublichealth.org. The findings are not surprising - health workers were being terrorized from the beginning of the genocide (data from December 2023- Jan 2024 peer review is slow).
journals.plos.org/globalpublic...
journals.plos.org/globalpublic...
If you're a journalist, maybe don't write a story on this one in case it's on the list of programs that have survived because someone didn't know about it to kill it.
September 10, 2025 at 2:35 AM
If you're a journalist, maybe don't write a story on this one in case it's on the list of programs that have survived because someone didn't know about it to kill it.
Very niche tweet but if you've been banging your head on the wall trying to understand the current status of the FDA/PEPFAR tentative approval program, a sliver of good news - 6 drugs have gone through this pathway in 2025, so I guess at least one person wasn't fired in that office?
September 10, 2025 at 2:35 AM
Very niche tweet but if you've been banging your head on the wall trying to understand the current status of the FDA/PEPFAR tentative approval program, a sliver of good news - 6 drugs have gone through this pathway in 2025, so I guess at least one person wasn't fired in that office?
On my reading list: "Affirming pharmaceutical sovereignty – Technology transfer agreements and vaccine geopolitics during a global health emergency."
Out this week from Koichi Kameda de Figueiredo Carvalho, Denise Pimenta and Gustavo Matta.
www.matteringpress.org/books/techno...
Out this week from Koichi Kameda de Figueiredo Carvalho, Denise Pimenta and Gustavo Matta.
www.matteringpress.org/books/techno...
Technoscientific Globalisation from Below
www.matteringpress.org
September 8, 2025 at 8:25 PM
On my reading list: "Affirming pharmaceutical sovereignty – Technology transfer agreements and vaccine geopolitics during a global health emergency."
Out this week from Koichi Kameda de Figueiredo Carvalho, Denise Pimenta and Gustavo Matta.
www.matteringpress.org/books/techno...
Out this week from Koichi Kameda de Figueiredo Carvalho, Denise Pimenta and Gustavo Matta.
www.matteringpress.org/books/techno...
You don't need a degree in IP to understand what is happening: the Special 301 investigation is part of a continued assault on the right to health and on the established legal instruments available to countries to realize it.
Trade policy should not be weaponized to restrict access to meds. 4/4
Trade policy should not be weaponized to restrict access to meds. 4/4
September 5, 2025 at 9:03 PM
You don't need a degree in IP to understand what is happening: the Special 301 investigation is part of a continued assault on the right to health and on the established legal instruments available to countries to realize it.
Trade policy should not be weaponized to restrict access to meds. 4/4
Trade policy should not be weaponized to restrict access to meds. 4/4
Also want to flag the fantastic work of a group of leading IP academics who also submitted analysis.
@hyoyoonkang.bsky.social @grahamdutfield.bsky.social Vitor Ido, @akapczynski.bsky.social, Luke McDonagh, @cmorten.bsky.social
Their submission here: comments.ustr.gov/sfc/servlet.... 3/4
@hyoyoonkang.bsky.social @grahamdutfield.bsky.social Vitor Ido, @akapczynski.bsky.social, Luke McDonagh, @cmorten.bsky.social
Their submission here: comments.ustr.gov/sfc/servlet.... 3/4
September 5, 2025 at 9:03 PM
Also want to flag the fantastic work of a group of leading IP academics who also submitted analysis.
@hyoyoonkang.bsky.social @grahamdutfield.bsky.social Vitor Ido, @akapczynski.bsky.social, Luke McDonagh, @cmorten.bsky.social
Their submission here: comments.ustr.gov/sfc/servlet.... 3/4
@hyoyoonkang.bsky.social @grahamdutfield.bsky.social Vitor Ido, @akapczynski.bsky.social, Luke McDonagh, @cmorten.bsky.social
Their submission here: comments.ustr.gov/sfc/servlet.... 3/4
The submission discusses the substantive merits of the 301 investigation. Briefly:
-Claims on patent pendency are based on PhRMA statistics and do not reflect reality
-Overzealous customs enforcement will lead to generic seizures
-The US continues to get confused abt "and" vs "or" in TRIPS 39.3 2/4
-Claims on patent pendency are based on PhRMA statistics and do not reflect reality
-Overzealous customs enforcement will lead to generic seizures
-The US continues to get confused abt "and" vs "or" in TRIPS 39.3 2/4
September 5, 2025 at 9:03 PM
The submission discusses the substantive merits of the 301 investigation. Briefly:
-Claims on patent pendency are based on PhRMA statistics and do not reflect reality
-Overzealous customs enforcement will lead to generic seizures
-The US continues to get confused abt "and" vs "or" in TRIPS 39.3 2/4
-Claims on patent pendency are based on PhRMA statistics and do not reflect reality
-Overzealous customs enforcement will lead to generic seizures
-The US continues to get confused abt "and" vs "or" in TRIPS 39.3 2/4