[Ip-health] Patent pool: MSF welcomes the decision by UNITAID ’s Executive Board

[James ARKINSTALL]

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Geneva 9th July 2008 - International humanitarian medical organisation
Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) welcomes the decision by UNITAID’s
Executive Board to take further steps towards establishing a patent pool*
for medicines, in order to provide people in low- and middle-income
countries with increased access to more appropriate and lower-priced
medicines.

“UNITAID has shown great vision and understanding of what needs to be done
- this could potentially have a big impact, both for access to medicines
and for medical innovation”, said Ellen ‘t Hoen, Director of Policy at
MSF’s Access Campaign. “Whether this works or not now depends on the
willingness of patent holders to share, in exchange for royalties, the
relevant patent rights in the pool.”

“We need to find ways to get new drug prices down,” said Dr. Selina Lo,
Medical Coordinator at MSF’s Access Campaign. “Today we pay at best
between US$613 and $1,022 for the newer WHO-recommended regimen for
first-line AIDS treatment. This is a seven to twelve-fold increase
compared to older first-line treatments which are now available for $87
for one patient’s yearly treatment. As we’ve seen with the older
antiretrovirals to treat AIDS, increased competition is the best way to do
that – a patent pool can foster this competition.”

“Patent pools also open up the possibility of developing more fixed-dose
combinations, which combine several drugs into one pill,” said Ellen ‘t
Hoen. “Patents on the individual components of a fixed-dose combination
can stand in the way of the development and production of an FDC.  A
patent pool gets round that by offering producers a one-stop-shop for
licences from the different intellectual property owners. Generic
companies obtain licences against the payment of royalties that will
enable them to put the different components of a fixed-dose combination
together.  The same is true for the development of more child-friendly
medicines.”

Contact: James Arkinstall, MSF +33 1 40 21 28 37


* A patent pool is a mechanism whereby a number of patents held by
different entities, such as companies, universities or research
institutes, are made available to others for production or further
development - for example of paediatric formulations or fixed-dose
formulations. The patent holders receive royalties that are paid by those
who use the patents. The pool manages the licences, the negotiations with
patent holders and the receipt and payment of royalties.

A patent pool can help speed up the availability of generic versions of
new medicines because the development can start well before the 20 year
patent term runs out.  At the same time, it will help to increase the size
of the potential market because companies that produce drugs under licence
from the patent pool will be able to export them to any of the countries
designated by the pool’s licences.

Patent pools are part of World Health Organization’s recently-adopted
Global Strategy on Public Health, Innovation and Intellectual Property to
help increase access to medicines.
http://www.who.int/gb/ebwha/pdf_files/A61/A61_R21-en.pdf



James ARKINSTALL

Senior Communications Officer
Médecins Sans Frontières - Campaign for Access to Essential Medicines