[Ip-health] Financial Times- HIV pool adds to pressure on drug groups

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HIV pool adds to pressure on drug groups

By Andrew Jack in London

Published: December 15 2009 17:12 | Last updated: December 15 2009 17:12

Nine western pharmaceutical companies face fresh pressure to ease
control over their HIV medicines following the establishment of an
international mechanism designed to increase treatment access in the
developing world.

The board of Unitaid, the French-backed health funding agency, voted on
Tuesday to create a "patent pool
<http://www.unitaid.eu/en/20091215237/News/UNITAID-APPROVES-PATENT-POOL.
html> " to increase the freedom of rival companies to combine and sell
almost 20 antiretroviral drugs to provide greater help to patients in
poor countries.

Philippe Douste-Blazy, chairman of Unitaid's executive board, said:
"This is an historic day. Unitaid has now put in place a mechanism that
will make medical advances work for the poor while compensating
companies for sharing their technology."

The pool
<http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/51d19fb2-700d-11de-b835-00144feabdc0.html>
details of which remain subject to debate - would allow low-cost generic
drug companies in India and elsewhere to experiment with patented HIV
medicines in order to create affordable "fixed dose combinations" and
paediatric versions of the different drugs.

Western companies would agree to be paid a small royalty on their
patents, but relinquish control over manufacturing, distribution and
pricing in the countries to which the pool applies, limiting their
revenues.

Unitaid is concentrating on putting into the pool 19 HIV medicines made
by Abbott <http://markets.ft.com/tearsheets/performance.asp?s=us:ABT> ,
Boehringer-Ingelheim, Bristol-Myers Squibb
<http://markets.ft.com/tearsheets/performance.asp?s=us:BMY> , Gilead
<http://markets.ft.com/tearsheets/performance.asp?s=us:GILD> ,
GlaxoSmithKline
<http://markets.ft.com/tearsheets/performance.asp?s=uk:GSK> , Merck
<http://markets.ft.com/tearsheets/performance.asp?s=us:MRK> , Pfizer
<http://markets.ft.com/tearsheets/performance.asp?s=us:PFE> , Roche
<http://markets.ft.com/tearsheets/performance.asp?s=ch:RO> and Tibotec,
part of Johnson & Johnson
<http://markets.ft.com/tearsheets/performance.asp?s=us:JNJ> .

The aim is to encourage new formulations to meet demand in developing
countries, where the commercial market has been insufficient to promote
innovation by the patent holders. Developing country demand includes the
need for combined pills, heat-stable medicines and drugs adapted for
easy use by children.

While boosting total volumes of drug sales, the pool would also waive
the patent holders' legal rights to charge high prices for their drugs.
Unitaid estimates the mechanism could save $1bn a year in medicine costs
in the developing world.

Several drug companies have expressed support in principle for the pool
but are wary about the details.

Some patent holders have indicated they are unwilling to take part in a
pool that extends to richer emerging markets such as India, Brazil and
Thailand. That is sparking tensions with the generic companies which say
they will need the rights to sell the drugs in these markets in order to
make a profit.

Gilead, the US company that has the largest market share of HIV
medicines, said: "We believe if structured appropriately, Unitaid's
patent pool can play a critical role in expanding access to
antiretroviral treatment for patients around the world."

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/561186aa-e998-11de-9f1f-00144feab49a.html?ncli
ck_check=1