This special issue of the journal Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Science explores how vaccines can fulfil their full potential for addressing global health challenges. It charts the progress to date, reviewing successes as well as challenges in the development and distribution of both human and veterinary vaccines.

The articles describe how vaccines can help mitigate and treat the world's major infectious diseases such as malaria, tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS, as well as chronic diseases, such as cancer. They explore vaccine policy and financing, ways to accelerate the development of new vaccines, issues surrounding public acceptance, and the logistics of getting vaccines to where they are needed. Also discussed is the use of vaccines to treat diseases in livestock — making an important link between health interventions, agricultural output and economic consequences.

The papers in this issue were presented at the meeting, 'New vaccines for global health', held at the Royal Society in London, United Kingdom, in November 2010.

A detailed discussion paper that presents a human rights approach to intellectual property rights. The paper was submitted to the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights for its discussion on "The right of everyone to benefit from the protection of the moral and material interests resulting from any scientific, literary or artistic production of which he is the author", which took place in Geneva in November 2000.

The paper starts with the premise that the manner in which creative works, cultural heritage, and scientific knowledge are turned into property has significant human rights implications. Various international human rights instruments have enumerated the right of an author, creator, and inventor to some form of recognition and benefit from their intellectual products — including the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights Article 15 (1) (c).

Recent trends underscore the need for a human rights approach to intellectual property; as various economic actors rush to stake claims over creative works and forms of knowledge — for example, through the provisions of the international agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights — human rights are being trampled. The author warns that unless human rights advocates provide an effective intellectual and organisational counterweight to economic interests, the intellectual property landscape will be reshaped in the years ahead without adequate consideration of the impact on human rights.