MSF Challenges Gilead Hepatitis C Patent In China

Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF, Doctors Without Borders) filed a patent challenge at the China State Intellectual Property Office today, asking for the invalidation of a Gilead patent on a hepatitis C medicine.

In a press release, MSF explains that it requested the invalidation of a patent granted to US pharmaceutical company Gilead Sciences for oral hepatitis C medicine velpatasvir. According to the health advocacy group, the patent is unmerited as it involves “well-known technologies.”

“Without access to affordable DAAs [direct-acting antivirals], people with hepatitis C in China are still forced to take an older, injected drug called interferon, which has low cure rates and causes people severe side effects, such as psychosis,” Gaëlle Krikorian, head of policy for MSF’s Access Campaign, said in the release.

According to the release, “Gilead launched the sofosbuvir/velpatasvir combination at a price of US$51,000 for a 12-week treatment course in the United Kingdom, whereas the same treatment course is available for as low as $286 in India from generic manufacturers. In China, this combination was registered in May 2018, but Gilead has not yet announced its price.”

China is the world’s largest supplier of active pharmaceutical ingredients (API) and if patents were not a barrier, China’s generic production capacity could increase competition and make breakthrough medicines more affordable and available globally, according to MSF.