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LONDON (AP) — Gilead Sciences Inc., one of the world’s biggest
producers of AIDS drugs, will allow some of them to be made by
generic manufacturers – potentially increasing their availability
in poor countries, particularly in Africa, officials said
Tuesday.
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In the first deal of its kind, the Foster City, California-based
pharmaceutical company has agreed to allow four of its AIDS drugs
to be made by generic drug companies at a cheaper cost in return
for a small proportion of royalties, United Nations health
officials said.
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Most of the 33 million people worldwide who have HIV, the virus
that causes AIDS, live in Africa. One of the drugs will also be
used to treat people with hepatitis.
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The deal was negotiated by the Medicines Patent Pool, part of a
U.N.-led partnership that raises money for AIDS, tuberculosis and
malaria by things like taxing airplane tickets. Among the
partnership’s 29 member countries, only Chile, France, Korea, Mali
and Niger are actually implementing the airline tax.
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Last year, the U.S. National Institutes of Health allowed one of
its patented drugs to be made generically via the same group, but
this the first deal with a private company. Several other
pharmaceutical companies, including F. Hoffman-La Roche, Sequoia
Pharmaceuticals and ViiV Healthcare, a joint venture between
GlaxoSmithKline PLC and Pfizer Inc., are in talks with the
group.
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“We will continue to work with Gilead and others to expand access
to all people living with HIV in developing countries,” said Ellen
‘t Hoen, executive director of the Medicines Patent
Pool.
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Gilead will receive from three to five percent royalties on its
four drugs, which will be supplied to about 100
countries.
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Gilead Sciences mainly makes drugs for AIDS, liver disease, heart
disease and respiratory problems. Last year, it reported revenues
of almost $8 billion, a fraction of the amount generated by larger
companies like Johnson & Johnson and Pfizer, which make several
times that.
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Until now, its drugs have been mainly sold in rich countries, and
profits from the new deal are expected to be a tiny part of those
Gilead gets from the West.
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Typically, patients in poor countries have to wait for years until
the patents expire on new drugs before they can be made more
cheaply by generic companies.
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But some experts questioned whether the deal went far enough and
pointed out it specifically excludes manufacturers in Thailand and
Brazil, which both produce large amounts of generic
drugs.
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“This agreement is an improvement over what other big pharma
companies are doing to ensure access to their patented AIDS
medicines in developing countries,” said Michelle Childs, a
director at Doctors Without Border’s campaign for access to
essential medicines. Still, she warned caution was necessary and
that the new deal “should not become the template for future
agreements.”
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Other major drugmakers including Johnson and Johnson, Abbott
Laboratories and Merck & Co. have so far declined to formally
negotiate with the U.N.-led group.
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