It is a pleasure to open the second meeting of the IFPMA-WHO round table group. Let me welcome back those of you who were at the first meeting, and extend a special welcome to those of you who are at WHO for the first time.

It is just over one year since we first met as a group. Looking at the briefing note for today’s meeting and reflecting on a whole series or recent events, I am pleased by what has been achieved in this partnership in just one short year. We have seen great steps forward both in specific initiatives and in the way we work together.

In a few minutes we will hear brief reports from each of the three working groups which were established following our meeting in October last year. The topics addressed by these groups – research and development for neglected infectious diseases, improving access to essential drugs, and combating substandard and counterfeit drugs – tackle critical and timely public health issues through pragmatic and action-oriented approaches. We are very excited both about the topics and the different ways in which the working groups have approached them.

The three working groups have also helped to move forward other closely related initiatives. The Medicines for Malaria Venture – MMV – which will be launched here in this same room later this morning, is one such initiative. MMV’s stated aim of producing one new antimalarial product every five years is ambitious but urgently needed.

Over the last year we have seen significant progress not only in concrete areas of work, but also in the way in which WHO and the pharmaceutical industry work together.

For example, just last month a sequence of meetings and public communications created misperception among some industry colleagues about WHO’s views on the benefits and difficulties associated with different types of drug donations. My staff worked directly with industry representatives and the Press to correct this misperception. This and other examples demonstrate, I believe, a new and better way of working together. Also, WHO has recently put into operation its "Guidelines on Interaction with Commercial Enterprises" which describes the rules and regulations by which WHO works with private enterprises.

WHO is a global public health institution accountable to its 191 Member States and ultimately to the 6 billion people who live in those countries. You, as Chief Executive Officers, are accountable to your shareholders. We both serve our constituencies through our efforts to improve individual and public health. This is our common ground – the basis for our partnership. But let us remember that partnership is not always consensus: even the best of partners do not always agree, and there are times when our views will differ on specific issues. However, those are the times when tension and differences create innovative solutions not thought about before the critical moment is reached.