What’s a patent pool, you say? Well…
December 10th, 2008This post was written by Diarmaid. You can read more posts by: Diarmaid or more posts in Campaign News
Aside from being an incredibly exciting chance to change the way we produce HIV medicines forever, a patent pool can seem to be a slightly frightening technical thingy. But it isn’t. It’s really simple actually. Click on the thumbnail on the right for a diagram explaining how it works (you might have to zoom in to read it all clearly) and have a read of the FAQs below. If these don’t answer your question, then email us and we’ll add it and the answer to this page.
Why are so many people in need of HIV treatment not getting it?
6000 people are dying every day from AIDS-related illnesses, unable to access the treatment they need to stay alive. There are many reasons for this, including a lack of health centres, particularly in rural areas and a severe shortage of nurses and doctors.
Another key barrier is the high cost of the drugs. Since anti-HIV drugs were first invented, newer and improved drugs have been created. The World Health Organisation (WHO) is now recommending the use of these newer drugs, but they are vastly more expensive. For example, one of the most common, older, first line combinations of three anti-HIV drugs is available in Africa for US$ 87 per patient per year. If just one of these three drugs were to be changed to one of the newer drugs the cost of the treatment would go up to at least US$ 487 - that’s the best price, specially negotiated by the Clinton Foundation. This is a cost increase of over 500%. People and governments in the developing world simply can’t afford these prices.
Why are the newer HIV treatments so much more expensive?
When a company invents a new drug they are given the exclusive right, or patent, to produce and sell it. These patents last for 20 years, and so for that length of time there is no competition. The lack of competitiors means the drug company can set the price of the drug artificially high, too often making it unaffordable for poor people and governments.
The older anti-HIV drugs are not under patent and so affordable, unbranded versions have been made by several different companies. The competition between the different companies making the same drugs has brought the cost down from an astronomical US$10,000 per patient per year when the treatments were first available, to now as little as US$87. This huge cost reduction is one of the main reasons why access to HIV treatment has managed to reach 3 million people to date.
Why are so many children in need of HIV treatment not getting it?
There are 2 million children living with HIV, but less than 10 per cent of those in need have access to the medicines that can help them to stay alive. One of the main reasons for this is because children need to have special formulations of the treatment, as the adult versions are not suitable for them. The problem is very few companies have researched and developed HIV treatments specifically for children. The current incentive system for encouraging drug companies to invest in researching and developing new treatments is based on the profits that they can make from selling the drugs once they are developed. 90 per cent of children living with HIV live in sub-Saharan Africa. Unlike HIV treatments for adults that can be sold at a huge profit to people living with HIV in rich countries, the 2 million children living with HIV do not represent a viable market and so drugs for them have been neglected. This is a major problem as children are often given a broken up adult tablet, and effectively treated by guess work.
How would a patent pool help get more people on treatment and to stay on treatment?
A patent pool is a simple system where patent-owners voluntarily give their patents to a central organisation that then licenses them to other companies and researchers. Companies that make unbranded drugs and researchers that want to use the patents to develop new versions of the drugs can access the patents in the Pool in exchange for paying a fair royalty to the patent owners. The Pool acts as a ‘one-stop-shop’ for managing the negotiations and receiving and paying the royalties.
Three key differences the patent pool would make:
1. More affordable drugs: By allowing lots of different manufacturers to produce the same drugs, the patent pool will open up competition and bring down drug prices. This means more people will be able to afford them.
2. More appropriate drugs, easier to take: At the moment people on HIV treatment may have to take many different pills at different times throughout the day. This makes sticking to treatment hard, and is a key reason why some people find it too difficult to stay on treatment. Currently, if a company wanted to develop a new pill that combined three existing drugs into one easy-to-take pill, it would have to enter into lengthy negotiations with at least three different patent-holders. Even if negotiations go well with two of the companies, the third company can refuse and stop the whole process. A patent pool would change this as the company wishing to make the new pill would have access to all the patents in the pool and after paying the necessary royalty fees would be free to make the new and improved treatment.
3. Child-friendly HIV treatments: By bringing together different patents, the Pool would allow companies to work together to develop new treatments suitable for children. The knowledge for making these treatments exists – it’s just a case of bringing all that knowledge into one place.
Who or what is UNITAID?
UNITAID is an international organisation whose core mission is to increase access to quality drugs for HIV, TB and malaria in developing counties. It was founded by five countries in 2006: France, Brazil, Chile, Norway and the UK.
In July 2008 the Executive Board of UNITAID approved the principle of setting up a patent pool for second generation and child-friendly HIV treatments. UNITAID is currently working on the business model for this, and we are campaigning to encourage the UNITAID Board members (including the UK government) to support this proposal as we believe it will help increase access to life saving medicines for the people most in need.
Which countries would the patent pool be used for?
The proposed UNITAID patent pool would be for low and middle income countries. The cheaper drugs made as a result of the patent pool would not interfere with the profits pharmaceutical companies can make in rich countries, as the drugs would not be able to be sold there.
How can we make it work?
First off we need to start making a noise about it, so that the UK government and others realise that it’s a priority. We’re confident that if enough people join the campaign and start demanding that the patent pool is set up, then it will be.
Once it’s set up the patent pool will be voluntary. Therefore, in order for it to work all patent holders must be willing to put their patents in the pool. If only one or two companies join in, the patent pool won’t really work.
What difference can I make by joining this Push?
In order for the patent pool to get off the ground we need lots of people to start shouting about it. By pledging your support you will be joining thousands of campaigners in demanding that the UK government and others ensure that the patent pool is turned into a reality, so that people in urgent need of life saving treatment can access it.
December 10th, 2008 at 4:44 pm
[...] that fight HIV and AIDS have made huge strides in the past decade. However, Stop AIDS Societies published an article this morning that mentioned the potential benefits patent pools may have on [...]