Late on Monday night UNITAID voted to create a patent pool for HIV medicines. This is a hugely important move which will help millions who need HIV treatment across the developing world.

This is a massive achievement for the Students Stop AIDS Campaign which has been ‘Pushing for the Pool’ for the last year and a half.

This decision shows how influential the campaign can be, and it is a truly incredible achievement and is a just reward for your amazing efforts.

 
Diarmaid McDonald who was in Geneva for the decision said

“”The UNITAID decision is a huge victory for those in need of HIV treatment around the world. It will help to break down the patent barriers which stop people getting the drugs they need to stay alive. Unitaid and the UK government should be commended for their leadership on this.”

Diarmaid said the focus “now shifts to the big drug companies”, adding: “It will test the sincerity of their rhetoric on helping the most vulnerable in our world.

“Companies like Gilead and Merck showed real leadership within the industry by speaking positively of the patent pool – they must now go beyond words and contribute their patents to the pool. The pressure will be on others within the industry to follow or to explain why they are willing to turn their backs on an initiative with such huge potential to save lives.”

A patent pool will help to; reduce the prices of much needed patented drugs, increase research in to child friendly formulas and create new combination pills.

Over the last year and a half Student Stop AIDS Societies from around the UK have met with their local communities, MPs, the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for International Development Ivan Lewis MP and big Pharma to discuss the patent pool and push for their support.

But the campaign does not stop here! In early 2010, the pool will start negotiating with big Pharma to get them to add their patents and we are going to make sure that they do!

Make sure you are at the February Training from 19th-21st of February to discuss how we take the campaign forward in to 2010!

Media Coverage:

To read more about the UNITAID patent pool decision in the national media, please click on the following links….

Financial Times — http://is.gd/5q1k6
Forbes — http://is.gd/5q1ow
Guardian — http://is.gd/5q1nF
MSF — http://is.gd/5q1mG
UNITAID — http://is.gd/5q1m0

This entry was posted on Wednesday, December 16th, 2009 at 6:10 pm and is filed under Campaign News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.