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Roz Scourse

@rozscourse.bsky.social

150 followers 180 following 25 posts

Access and Global Health Policy Lead, MSF UK. Personal account, views my own

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Reposted by Roz Scourse

Asia Russell @asia-ilse.bsky.social · Jul 9

Q: Why should one of the wealthiest drug companies in the world be allowed to keep the price it’s charging a major global health institution for a lifesaving HIV prevention shot that’s about 100% effective, a secret? healthgap.org/press/gilead...

A: they shouldn’t

Gilead Imposes Price Secrecy on Global Fund Over Breakthrough HIV Prevention Shot, Blocking Transparency and Accountability

PRESS STATEMENTFOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: July 9 2025Contact for more information: Asia Russell | +1 267 475 2645 [email protected] Susana van der Ploeg | +55 32 9921-7496 [email protected]...

Reposted by Roz Scourse

Jaime Manzano @jaimemanzano.bsky.social · Jun 5

🔹 Clinical trial transparency

Clinical trials are the most costly part of developing medicines, yet cost is not disclosed by companies. Transparency here is essential to fair pricing and ensuring the public return.
(See the excellent Transparency CORE toolkit by MSF) @rozscourse.bsky.social /7

Reposted by Roz Scourse

Jaime Manzano @jaimemanzano.bsky.social · Jun 5

💬 What if national pharmaceutical policy could help fix global asymmetries in medicine access—by design?
🧵 A thread on translating international commitments into meaningful national reform: /1

#GlobalHealth #HealthPolicy 🛟 💊🌐

Reposted by Roz Scourse

Melissa Barber @mbarber.bsky.social · May 23

Grim how we are discussing relative catastrophic cuts to health - and the cuts are catastrophic - but in absolute terms, health spending was already unacceptably low.

WHO's budget shortfall = 8 hours of military spending.

From Tedros's speech to the WHA this week:

www.who.int/news-room/sp...

Reposted by Roz Scourse

Thiru Balasubramaniam @thirugeneva.bsky.social · May 23

#WHA78 @rozscourse.bsky.social

Reposted by Roz Scourse

Thiru Balasubramaniam @thirugeneva.bsky.social · May 23

KEI side event: Workplan for WHO and member states to improve the Transparency of the Value Chain for Biomedical Products - 22 May 2025 - Thank you to all our speakers and participants! #WHA78 @who.int

Roz Scourse @rozscourse.bsky.social · May 22

This meeting was the launch event for the great new @wemos.org @hai-org.bsky.social report on the implementation of the WHA transparency resolution - super helpful to see some progress and initiatives since 2019 but also how much more needs to be done:

www.wemos.org/wp-content/u...

Roz Scourse @rozscourse.bsky.social · May 21

@jamielove.bsky.social simply said: “fix this problem”

Roz Scourse @rozscourse.bsky.social · May 21

One of the most powerful panel discussions I have seen in a long time; deep anger and outrage that parents are watching their children dying from rare diseases when treatments exist that could save their lives.

@justtreatment.org @3rdworldnetwork.bsky.social

Roz Scourse @rozscourse.bsky.social · May 21

Now @dbdurisch.bsky.social @publiceye.ch showing how *2 days* after the @who.int transparency resolution was adopted in 2019, industry in Switzerland started a process to increase secrecy of drug prices - price transparency has got worse since then, not better

Roz Scourse @rozscourse.bsky.social · May 21

He argues for the need for standardization in *how* R&D costs are reported so this can be demanded from industry as part of health technology assessment

Roz Scourse @rozscourse.bsky.social · May 21

At the @wemos.org @hai-org.bsky.social #WHA78 side event on transparency where the Spanish Minister of Health highlights Pharma industry hypocrisy in saying they don’t know what their R&D costs are when this is the backbone of their justification for high prices

Roz Scourse @rozscourse.bsky.social · May 21

He argues for the need for standardization in *how* R&D costs are reported so this can be demanded from industry as part of health technology assessment

Reposted by Roz Scourse

MSF Access @msfaccess.org · May 15

⚠️ South Africa: Lifesaving scientific research on prevention, testing, treatment and care for people living with #HIV and #tuberculosis is under serious threat due to funding suspensions and grant terminations U.S. government.

msfaccess.org/us-funding-c...

US funding cuts threaten 39 research sites in South Africa, putting scientific advancements and hard-won progress against TB and HIV at risk

TAG and MSF urge donors to act now to protect ongoing research and ensure continuity of care for people with HIV and TB

Reposted by Roz Scourse

Melissa Barber @mbarber.bsky.social · May 12

Incredibly sad news that the only Mycetoma research center in the world was destroyed in Khartoum. Scientists lost 40+ years of samples, a significant setback in the fight against an already neglected disease.

www.theguardian.com/global-devel...

Gleaming labs turned to rubble: scientists mourn the loss of decades of medical progress in Sudan

Universities and laboratories in Khartoum are looted or in ruins, with vital research and medicines destroyed, including pioneering work on tropical diseases

www.theguardian.com

Reposted by Roz Scourse

Shailly Gupta @shaillygupta.bsky.social · Apr 24

Access to TB drug bedaquiline was delayed for over a decade due to its high price. It was the public disclosure of significant public and non-profit investments in its development that supported a global movement leading to a price reduction of this lifesaving drug. msfaccess.org/call-transpa...

Call for transparency: detailed cost analysis of MSF’s TB-PRACTECAL clinical trial in PLOS Global Public Health

MSF published the costs of its landmark TB-PRACTECAL clinical trial in the journal PLOS Global Public Health that cost a total of €33.9 million.

Reposted by Roz Scourse

Madhu Pai, MD, PhD @madhupai.bsky.social · Apr 24

What did it cost for @msf.org to run a large TB clinical trial?

€33.9 million

Well done MSF for this transparent analysis!

journals.plos.org/globalpublic...

Cost analysis of the TB-PRACTECAL clinical trial on novel tuberculosis treatment regimens

Clinical trials are considered to be the largest contributor to pharmaceutical development costs. However, public disclosure of the costs of individual clinical trials is rare. Médecins Sans Frontiè...

journals.plos.org

Roz Scourse @rozscourse.bsky.social · Apr 24

This work continues with plans to publish more of MSF's clinical trial costs - as well as publication of trial costs by others who are starting to use the toolkit we developed as part of this work: msfaccess.org/transparency...

Transparency CORE: Clinical Trial Cost Reporting Toolkit

A toolkit to facilitate the analysis and publication of clinical trial costs

Roz Scourse @rozscourse.bsky.social · Apr 24

Despite claims by industry that publishing R&D costs cannot be done, MSF is showing by doing that transparency in R&D spending can and must be done; it is critical to determine fair prices of medical products, equitable access, and public accountability.

Roz Scourse @rozscourse.bsky.social · Apr 24

MSF has led some groundbreaking clinical trials, including TB-PRACTECAL. Recognising the lack of transparency in R&D costs, MSF took the unprecedented step to commit to publishing the costs of the clinical trials that we are involved in; TB-PRACTECAL cost €33.9 million: msfaccess.org/call-transpa...

Call for transparency: detailed cost analysis of MSF’s TB-PRACTECAL clinical trial in PLOS Global Public Health

MSF published the costs of its landmark TB-PRACTECAL clinical trial in the journal PLOS Global Public Health that cost a total of €33.9 million.

Roz Scourse @rozscourse.bsky.social · Apr 24

For decades the access to medicines community has called for more transparency in R&D costs. This is because the pharmaceutical industry continues to justify the high prices of medical products on high costs of R&D. These claims have never been backed up with evidence: msfaccess.org/secrets-cost...

Secrets Cost Lives: Transparency and Access to Medical Products

Progress towards equity in access to medical products can only be built on the open sharing of information and knowledge, not on secrets

Roz Scourse @rozscourse.bsky.social · Apr 24

Today in PLOS Global Public Health, MSF has published the costs of its landmark TB-PRACTECAL clinical trial. This is the first time the detailed costs of an individual clinical trial have ever been shared, challenging the lack of transparency in drug R&D costs 🧵

journals.plos.org/globalpublic...

Cost analysis of the TB-PRACTECAL clinical trial on novel tuberculosis treatment regimens

Clinical trials are considered to be the largest contributor to pharmaceutical development costs. However, public disclosure of the costs of individual clinical trials is rare. Médecins Sans Frontiè...

journals.plos.org

Roz Scourse @rozscourse.bsky.social · Mar 25

Awesome to see Gary @garyseconomics.bsky.social at the wealth tax rally

“I’m not very keen on rally’s. I always leave wondering if we can win. But I’m here cos I think we can win this one”

#TaxTheSuperRich

Reposted by Roz Scourse

Jake Atkinson @jakeatkinson.bsky.social · Mar 25

NEW POLLING:

77% support ⬆️ taxes on the very richest over cuts to public spending

78% support a 2% wealth tax on net wealth over £10m

67% - think the very richest people in the UK should pay more in tax

Tax the rich, don't punish the poor. @oxfamgb.bsky.social

www.oxfam.org.uk/media/press-...

Oxfam GB | Three quarters of British public would back government tax increases on very richest versus spending cuts

www.oxfam.org.uk

Reposted by Roz Scourse

Adam R Houston @healthlawadamh.bsky.social · Mar 25

New from us @plosglobalpublichealth.org
"Cholera vaccines for the rich, #cholera for the poor: While the global cholera vaccine stockpile runs dry, a booming market for high-income countries exemplifies the chasm between commercial interests and global health needs" journals.plos.org/globalpublic...