[Ip-health] MSF Patent barriers for ready-to-use-food (RUTF)

[Michelle.VILK@geneva.msf.org]

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GLOBAL: Making peanut butter gets stickier=0D
11 Nov 2009 11:37:51 GMT=0D
Source: IRIN=0D
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Reuters and AlertNet are not responsible for the content of this article or=
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for any external internet sites. The views expressed are the author's=0D
alone.=0D
JOHANNESBURG, 11 November 2009 (IRIN) - Plumpy'nut, a widely distributed=0D
ready-to-use therapeutic food (RUTF), has revolutionized the treatment of=
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acute malnutrition, but its 12-year dominance is being challenged by a=0D
newcomer. The patents for Plumpy'nut - a blend of peanuts, sugar, milk=0D
powder, oil, vitamins and minerals - are owned by Nutriset, a French=0D
family-run business, and the Institute of Research for Development, a=0D
French public research institute. Now an American family-owned company,=0D
Tabatchnick Fine Foods, is turning the heat up in the blended food kitchen=
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by applying for a patent for their RUTF in the US - where the Plumpy'nut=0D
patent is registered - to treat malnutrition in children and boost women's=
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immune systems. Tabatchnick hopes to open up the market with his patent=0D
challenge and has started manufacturing an RUTF that is being evaluated by=
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the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF), the world's largest buyer of RUTF and=0D
Plumpy'nut. Manufacturers of similar pastes have been wary of challenging=
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Nutriset. "The patents are so broad that if you add one micronutrient into=
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a jar of Nutella [a widely distributed brand of nut pastes] it will fall=0D
within the patent," said St=C3=A9phane Doyon, leader of the Nutrition Team =
at=0D
M=C3=A9decins Sans Fronti=C3=A8res (MSF), the international medical charity=
. The US=0D
patent describes Nutriset's RUTF as a "complete food or nutritional=0D
supplement" comprising "a mixture of food-grade products, said mixture=0D
being coated with at least one lipid-rich substance optionally derived=0D
partly from oleaginous seeds". The mixture could be in the form of "powder,=
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particles or granules", the seeds could be "peanuts, cocoa beans, almonds,=
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coconuts or pistachio nuts, or they can consist of a mixture of various=0D
fats of vegetable origin". The protein source in the RUTF could be skimmed=
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milk, powdered yoghurt or whey, and/or at least one product which provides=
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carbohydrates, particularly carbohydrate bulking agents, sucrose, glucose,=
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fructose, skimmed milk, whey, or flour made of maize, wheat, millet, oats,=
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rice, cassava or potato starch", according to the patent documents.=0D
Plumpy'nut was the first RUTF to be developed and is regarded as the=0D
industry standard. Several similar pastes have been developed but can only=
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be sold in countries where the Plumpy'nut patents are not registered.=0D
"Because Plumpy'nut is a brand name, it is the most popular," said an aid=
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agency worker. "It is like Coke - people still prefer it, even if you have=
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other similar drinks." Two is a crowd too Nutriset has attempted to broaden=
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the scope of its two patents claim industry insiders, who also say the=0D
company has been "very vigilant" in ensuring that its patents are=0D
respected; manufacturers of peanut-based RUTFs have received legal letters.=
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"You have to keep reminding people [by sending letters]," said Nutriset=0D
spokesman Remi Vallet. "We are not trying to protect any monopoly - there=
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is no monopoly there are other RUTF manufacturers in the market." In Kenya,=
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where the Plumpy'nut patents are registered, Nutriset has threatened legal=
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action against Compact, an Indian and Norwegian manufacturer, for storing=
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25 metric tons of its RUTF, eeZeePaste, which it intended to supply to=0D
Somalia and the Democratic Republic of Congo. "Our patent lawyers are=0D
studying the letter [from Nutriset] at the moment. I think they are=0D
stretching the interpretation of their patents," said Arne Andreassen,=0D
managing director of Compact, who pointed out that conflict-torn Somalia=0D
does not have adequate storage facilities. Vallet said Nutriset was=0D
flexible where products were for humanitarian interventions. "We are=0D
willing to talk to Compact if they can show the supply was meant for=0D
Somalia. We allowed Diva [a South African RUTF manufacturer] to supply a=0D
UNICEF programme in Kenya, and are now in talks with them to enter into an=
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arrangement with us." Nutriset patents are registered in the European=0D
Union, the US and Canada, as well as in 16 francophone members of the=0D
African Intellectual Property Organization and 16 members of the African=0D
Regional Intellectual Property Organization in Eastern and Southern Africa.=
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In countries where Nutriset patents are registered, companies granted a=0D
manufacturing license are allowed to make, store, sell or use products=0D
similar to Plumpy'nut, but may not use the brand name. A network of=0D
Nutriset franchise-holders covers Niger, Ethiopia, Democratic Republic of=
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Congo, Ghana, Tanzania Madagascar, Malawi, Mozambique, Dominican Republic,=
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India and USA. Nutriset patents are not registered in India, South Africa=
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and Haiti, which have large numbers of malnourished children, and the=0D
company said competitors were free to invest in research and development of=
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other RUTF products that would not fall within the scope of its patents.=0D
Ben Tabatchnick, head of the family business, said his product was still in=
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the development phase, but the patent would be "open-source", which would=
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allow other producers to replicate his recipe. His company "was trying to=
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take the fear out of other producers from producing RUTF and keeping up=0D
with demand; no one producer can supply (even with licensed franchises) the=
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world demand for RUTF and RUSF [ready-to-use supplementary foods]", he=0D
commented. "By allowing others free access (with proper oversight by UNICEF=
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and MSF), this can and will be accomplished." MSF's Doyon said patents for=
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humanitarian products should be "filed only on an exceptional basis and ...=
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licensing agreements should be offered to third parties on flexible terms=
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and conditions, so as to ensure the widest possible availability of=0D
nutritional products of a humanitarian nature. We have been saying [this]=
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to Nutriset ... [but] their reaction to Compact seems to say that they do=
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not agree." All the nuts in one jar According to a study commissioned by=0D
UNICEF, Nutriset supplies the bulk of its product from France and the UN=0D
agency is the world's largest buyer of Plumpy'nut, which accounts for 89=0D
percent of its RUTF procurement every year. The cost and difficulty of=0D
exporting Plumpy'nut from France could be significant. In 2008 most of=0D
UNICEF's emergency supplies to Ethiopia had been air-freighted - 39 percent=
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of the cost - whereas a local supplier in Kenya could have decreased=0D
transportation costs by around $80,000 per year and reduced overall=0D
supply-chain delay from eight weeks to one week. [However] "It does not=0D
always work out cheaper to buy in the south," than to ship RUTF from Europe=
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said Steve Jarrett, principal advisor in UNICEF's supply division. The=0D
study noted that there were "considerable risks in having a vital product=
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like RUTF produced only by one dominant world supplier". Nutriset has taken=
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a number of precautions to protect the production process, including=0D
security staff, and the ability to rapidly shift staff and equipment to=0D
scale up production outside of France, including in the US. But if=0D
Nutriset's manufacturing facility were to "go off-line for any reason - be=
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it mechanical failure, worker strike, natural disaster, or a host of other=
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reasons - the ramifications could effectively halt the entire RUTF supply=
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chain for all of Nutriset's customers", the study commented. A single=0D
global producer "limits the extent to which the supply chain includes surge=
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capacity"; in the face of a complex emergency Nutriset would be forced to=
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prioritize orders and reduce its ability to meet needs elsewhere. The study=
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also suggested that multi-sourcing could bring down costs. Jarrett said=0D
UNICEF was in favour of encouraging the production of RUTFs in beneficiary=
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countries because this would help to "advocate its use - it is easier to=0D
get a buy-in from countries." jk/he/bp=0D
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Kind regards,=0D
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Michelle Vilk=0D
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Coordination and Communications Assistant=0D
M=C3=A9decins Sans Fronti=C3=A8res=0D
Campaign for Access to Essential Medicines=0D
Rue de Lausanne 78=0D
1211 Geneva, Switzerland=0D
Tel: + 41(0) 22 849 89 02=0D
Fax: + 41 (0) 22 849 84 04=0D
michelle.vilk@geneva.msf.org=0D
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www.msfaccess.org=0D
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