E-DRUG: Medicines Patent Pool Collaboration with ViiV on paediatric HIV
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Dear all,
The Medicines Patent Pool yesterday announced a new collaboration with GlaxoSmithKline, Pfizer and Shionogi via the joint venture ViiV Healthcare. Under the collaboration, MPP & ViiV have agreed to work together in several areas to make more quality medicines and needed formulations for children available in developing countries.
These areas include: a royalty-free licence on one key HIV medicine, abacavir, in the 118 countries where 98.7% of children with HIV reside; a commitment to license pipeline products for paediatric use in 118 countries once those products are approved by drug regulators; a commitment for ViiV to provide technology transfer to aid generic manufacture, and to provide access to data on medicines quality and efficacy; and planned partnerships with third parties to help bring to market as-yet undeveloped treatments to to speed the availability of those treatments in developing countries.
The full press release on this collaboration is available from MPP's website (in English, Spanish, and French) here:
http://www.medicinespatentpool.org/?p=2051
Transparency is important to the MPP, and we have posted the full texts of the collaboration, and the abacavir licence on our website here:
http://www.medicinespatentpool.org/current-licences/
The MPP has an advisory group made up of experts in public health, intellectual property law, medicine and communities of people living with HIV. This group provides strategic advice for ongoing negotiations and reviews licences before they are signed. The group's review of the ViiV licence is available here [pdf link]:
http://www.medicinespatentpool.org/wp-content/uploads/Patent-Pool-ViiV-ABC-EAG-Report-FINAL.pdf
All the best,
Kaitlin Mara
Communications Manager
Medicines Patent Pool
direct: +41 22 791 6344
mobile: +41 79 825 4786
kmara@medicinespatentpool.org