Medicines Patent Pool Strikes Deal With Bristol-Myers Squibb

By Catherine Saez

The Medicines Patent Pool today announced a new agreement with biopharmaceutical company Bristol-Myers Squibb for an HIV medicine, which is expected to increase access in 110 developing countries.

The agreement, available on the Geneva-based Medicines Patent Pool website, is the patent pool’s first agreement covering a World Health Organization-preferred second-line therapy, according to a Medicines Patent Pool (MPP) release.

“This agreement will allow manufacturers world-wide to produce more affordable versions of atazanavir, and to combine atazanavir with other medicines to make treatment easier and more accessible in developing countries,” said Greg Perry, executive director of the MPP.

According to the release, under the terms of the agreement, a technology transfer package will be provided to sub-licensees to facilitate the manufacture of atazanavir.

Royalties are not applicable in a large majority of the concerned countries, and are waived for all paediatric products, says the release. In addition, “any royalties that are collected under this licence agreement will be reinvested in local HIV/AIDS groups in those countries,” it said.

[Update:] US lobby group Public Citizen has issued a statement applauding the agreement, and encouraging others in the private sector to follow suit. “We congratulate the MPP and encourage all of Big Pharma to jump in the Patent Pool,” Peter Maybarduk, Public Citizen Global Access to Medicines Program Director, said in the release.

He noted that MPP has entered into negotiations with AbbVie (formerly Abbott), and that Johnson & Johnson and Merck are lagging behind in having such negotiations.

Maybarduk also noted that the new agreement contains another provision that provides for sales where no patent is held, which would cover an additional 30 countries according to an MPP database.