UNITAID Patent Pool for HIV/AIDS Drugs Approved
In its meeting yesterday, the board of UNITAID voted to approve the Patent Pool for HIV/AIDS drugs, opening the door for greater development and production of desperately needed antiretrovirals. Lowering intellectual property barriers on ARVs and allowing for the production and sales of generic versions of the drugs in resource-poor countries will help make the drugs affordable to the people who need them the most, and has the potential to save millions of lives. According to its sponsors, the Patent Pool could also save over $1,000,000,000 a year.
Want to know what the Patent Pool is all about? Read the very recent Global Pulse interview with Ellen ‘t Hoen, Senior Advisor for the Patent Pool at UNITAID.
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There has been significant concern over efforts by drug companies to keep middle-income countries out of the patent pool. If such limits are imposed, millions of impoverished HIV patients in India, China, and Brazil will remain unable to afford the drugs.
Read on for more on UNITAID, AIDS, intellectual property, and the Patent Pool.