[Ip-health] Mexcio session on UNITAID Patent Pool: Taking the Plunge ­ How the UNITAID Patent Pool Could Help Increase Access to Newer ARVs and Stimulate Innovation

[James Love]

Satellite Session
Tuesday, 5 August 2008. 7.00 – 8.30 AM
XVII International AIDS Conference
Banamex Center, Mexico City
Skills Building Room 9


Taking the Plunge:
How the UNITAID Patent Pool Could Help Increase Access to Newer ARVs and
Stimulate Innovation

Organized by Knowledge Ecology International (KEI), Médecins Sans
Frontières (MSF) Campaign for Access to Essential Medicines and OXFAM

The recent groundbreaking decision taken by UNITAID’s board to in
principle establish a patent pool could hold the key to future access to
affordable newer ARVs. A patent pool is a mechanism whereby a number of
patents held by different entities are made available to other
interested parties for production or further development. The patent
holders in return receive
royalties paid by those using the patents. The pool manages the
licenses, patent negotiations, and royalty payments, which streamlines
the process. A patent pool could facilitate, for example, the
development of pediatric formulations or much-needed fixed-dose
combinations (FDCs) for less toxic first-line, and for second-line
treatments, for which patents on individual compounds otherwise pose a
barrier. It could also help speed up the availability of generic
versions of new medicines, as production could begin well before the
20-year patent terms expire. Critical to a patent pool’s success,
however, is the willingness of the patent holders to include their
patent rights in the pool.

This session will provide a briefing on the UNITAID patent pool, explore
the
pros and cons of patent pools and will be followed by a discussion.
Speakers will include representatives from the pharmaceutical industry,
UNITAID, and NGOs.

Speakers:

Chair: Dr. Sigrun Møgedal, Ambassador for HIV/AIDS, Ministry of Foreign
Affairs, Norway

Dr. Jorge Bermudez, International Secretary, UNITAID

James Love, Director, Knowledge Ecology International

Gregg H. Alton, Senior Vice President and General Counsel, Gilead

Ellen ‘t Hoen, Director Policy Advocacy, Médecins Sans Frontières

Dr. Mohga Kamal-Yanni, Senior health and HIV policy advisor, OXFAM GB

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James Love, Director, Knowledge Ecology International
http://www.keionline.org | mailto:james.love at keionline.org
Wk: +1.202.332.2671 | US Mobile +1.202.361.3040 | Geneva Mobile +41.76.413.6584