The Medicines Patent Pool, which aims to increase access to affordable, high-quality medicines for HIV/AIDS patients in low and middle income countries, has issued a response to concerns about its recent deal with a large pharmaceutical company.

The licence agreement with Gilead (IPW, Public Health, 12 July 2011) has drawn criticism from some non-governmental groups for not going far enough to open access to middle-income markets. The International Treatment Preparedness Coalition (ITPC) circulated a petition with more than 160 signatures opposing the Gilead-Pool agreement in its current form (IPW, Public Health, 11 October 2011).

The Pool said in its response that the Gilead deal is not a template for the future, and that it includes more countries in its scope than any other HIV licence to date. The response also details how the licence does not undermine flexibilities contained within the World Trade Organization Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS). It also seeks to address concerns related to production of generic products in India and elsewhere.

The Medicines Patent Pool works to increase access to AIDS medicines by “negotiating with patent holders to share their intellectual property with the Pool, and then licensing it to other producers to facilitate the production of affordable generic medicines well-adapted for use in resource-poor settings,” it says on the MPP website.

The Medicines Patent Pool response is here.