E-DRUG: UK Government Endorses Patent Pool
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Dear all,
The new UK government have given their public backing to the recently established Medicines Patent Pool.
Speaking in parliament, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for International Development, Stephen O'Brien MP said the UK government view the pool as a "key means of addressing the treatment challenge".
This is an important endorsement of the pool by the Conservative-Lib Dem coalition and an important step in ensuring pharmaceutical companies commit to the pool for all low and middle income countries.
The answer came as part of International Development Questions. Full Transcript available here:
http://www.theyworkforyou.com/debates/?id=2010-11-17a.870.3&s=stephen+o%
27brien#g870.6
Bill Esterson <http://www.theyworkforyou.com/mp/?m=40522> (Sefton Central, Labour)
Does the Minister <http://www.theyworkforyou.com/glossary/?gl=35> agree that it is important that children who have already contracted HIV <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HIV> should be able to access medicines to stay alive? If so, will he join me in calling on pharmaceutical companies to make their patents available to the patent pool, so that there can be affordable HIV drugs for children?
Stephen O'Brien <http://www.theyworkforyou.com/mp/?m=40237> (Parliamentary Under Secretary of State, International Development; Eddisbury, Conservative)
I am grateful for the hon. Gentleman's question. The Government definitely support the UNITAID <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UNITAID> patent pool, which is, as he knows, a mechanism to facilitate the development of new, particularly fixed-dose combination drugs, partly to ward off the danger of monotherapies. That can be a key means of addressing the treatment challenge. We welcome UNITAID's decision to create a separate foundation to manage the pool's activities, and we recognise that that is an important step. We now need the milestones to be put in place as rapidly as possible, so that we can convert it to a working programme going forward.
The Stop AIDS Campaign have been pushing for the creation of an effective HIV patent pool for all developing countries for two years and continue to press for pharmaceutical companies to make their patents available to the pool.
Kind regards,
Diarmaid
Diarmaid McDonald
Stop AIDS Campaign Coordinator
00 44 (0) 20 7324 4785
Stop AIDS Campaign
UK Consortium on AIDS & International Development
Grayston Centre
28 Charles Square
London N1 6HT
www.stopaidscampaign.org.uk