HIV Drug to Be Distributed Worldwide

Good news from India this week, they've rejected a bogus attempt to patent a critical HIV drug. The Initiative for Medicines, Access & Knowledge (I-MAK), an NGO focused on increasing access to affordable medicines by making sure the patent system works correctly, reports that India denied an application by Abbott Laboratories (NYSE: ABT) for a patent on the very important anti-HIV-1 protease inhibitor combination of lopinavir and ritonavir.

As a result, the lopinavir/ritonavir combination, considered to be the front line of defense for HIV positive patients who have failed to stay healthy with the first round of medicines available today, can be made and distributed to HIV patients worldwide. Drug manufacturers in India, the world's leading supplier of affordable medicines, can now supply this drug to patients across the globe who are desperately waiting for treatment. The impact of the case is tremendous and I-MAK is to be applauded for their efforts.

 

Comments

[oekosjoe]

10:18 AM on 01/12/2011

And we might wonder that the Republicans haven't taken up the case for Abbott! They're certainly protecting Gilead - who makes Truvada, the ONLY tested and proven PREVENTIVE HIV medication - who wants to "protect their market" and keep their medication for treatment only. If people actually look at the findings of last months Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis clinical trials (http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/03/opinion/03fri2.html?_r=1) they'd find that 100% of those who actually took the pills never developed the virus after an exposure! But, in the Times and other reports, they count all potential participants, and reduce that rate to 44%. And, since the study was financed by Gates and NIIAD, Gilead's continued delay in testing is merely reflected in "spin" rather than outright murder.