US foreign policy regulates, incentivizes and subsidizes access to medicines for patients around the world, from intellectual property protection and market access commitments in trade agreements to assistance programs like PEPFAR. What existing policies is President Trump likely to change, what new policies will his administration introduce, and how will these changes affect global health outcomes?
About Global Access in Action
Global Access in Action, a project of the Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University, conducts action-oriented research into access to lifesaving medicines, and alternative incentives for the development of medical treatments for underserved populations. Improving access and promoting socially beneficial innovation are key strategies for combatting the communicable disease burden that disproportionately harms the world’s most vulnerable populations.
About the GAiA Brown Bag Series
The GAiA brown bag series, "Conversations in Global Health, Innovation & the Digital World," is a collaboration with the Harvard Global Health Institute to facilitate discussion among researchers, scholars, practitioners, and others engaged in the development of legal and policy frameworks that govern innovation and global commercialization of medicines.
About John Stubbs
A former staffer with the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR), John Stubbs is a Fellow at Harvard University’s Berkman Center for Internet and Society where he is researching transparency and international trade agreements.
From 2001-2007 John served three consecutive USTRs to advance US objectives among foreign and domestic constituencies. John created numerous initiatives to increase stakeholder participation in trade policy development, including the first online access ramp for US private sector advisors to view classified materials. During John’s time at USTR, the United States successfully launched the Doha Development Agenda at the WTO and approved Free Trade Agreements with 13 countries.
In 2007 John founded Romulus Global Issues Management, a Washington, DC-based consulting firm that helps executives navigate cross-border issues related to crisis, transition or growth. In particular, John’s work focuses on technology transfer, adoption and uptake in emerging markets. Romulus consultants have worked in more than 80 countries and clients include multinational corporations, startups and non-governmental organizations.
John has played a role in creating several new ventures. He founded the Global Innovation Forum and led the organization from 2009-2014. In 2008 John helped launch Farmstead Wines, a boutique importer of sustainably produced wines, and in 2011 he co-founded ecommerce company The Daily Hookup, Inc.
John received his BA in economics from George Washington University where he was President of GW’s policy debate team. He is a board member of the National Foreign Trade Council Foundation, a term member of the Council on Foreign Relations and a member of the Krewe of Bacchus in New Orleans, Louisiana.