- The Medicines Patent Pool (MPP) has signed sub-licence agreements with Indian and Indonesian companies to manufacture generic versions of the cancer medication Nilotinib.
- Nilotinib is a drug that is used to treat chronic myeloid leukaemia, a kind of blood cancer.
What exactly is the Medicines Patent Pool (MPP)?
- Mission & Goal: The MPP is a United Nations-backed organisation dedicated to boosting low- and middle-income nations’ access to life-saving medications.
- Addressing Intellectual Property Rights: The MPP aims to remove barriers associated to intellectual property rights and patents that limit the availability and price of vital medications.
- The MPP negotiates voluntary licencing arrangements with pharmaceutical firms to allow the production of generic copies of copyrighted medications.
- Production of Low- and Middle-Income-Country Generics: By gaining licences, the MPP enables eligible manufacturers in low- and middle-income countries to create and distribute low- and middle-income-country generic pharmaceuticals.
Need for MPP
- The MPP relies on collaboration with governments, non-profit organisations, civil society organisations, and pharmaceutical firms to address global health concerns and boost access to medications.
- Priority Diseases: The MPP’s activities are especially important in diseases such as HIV/AIDS, TB, hepatitis C, and other priority areas where access to cheap pharmaceuticals is critical.
- Sustainable Supply of Generic pharmaceuticals: The MPP provides a sustainable supply of quality-assured generic pharmaceuticals through licencing agreements, increasing market competition and extending therapeutic alternatives.
- Improving Health Outcomes: The MPP’s work decreases the burden of high drug costs and improves access to life-saving therapies, resulting in better health outcomes and the saving of lives.
- Patients in Low- and Middle-Income Countries help: The MPP’s programmes directly help patients in low- and middle-income countries by expanding access to cheap medications and eliminating healthcare inequities.
Recent deals made with Novartis include
- The MPP signed a licence agreement with Novartis Pharma AG, a Swiss pharmaceutical business that owns the Nilotinib patent, in October 2022.
- Initial Sub-License Agreements: The MPP’s recent sub-licence agreements with Indian companies Eugia, Hetero, and Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories, as well as the Indonesian firm BrightGene, are the first for a cancer treatment medicine.
Benefits
- Generic Nilotinib: Generic Nilotinib can be produced by licenced producers.
- Manufacturing: The selected firms would produce generic Nilotinib in India and seven other middle-income nations.
- The non-exclusive licencing agreement provides for the supply of generic Nilotinib in the 44 territories included by the agreement, subject to local regulatory approval.
- Affordable Treatment Option: According to Charles Gore, the MPP’s executive director, the development of generic Nilotinib will give an affordable treatment option for persons diagnosed with chronic myeloid leukaemia in the covered nations.
- Expanding Cancer Medication Access: The MPP programme aims to increase access to important cancer drugs by lowering costs and expanding availability.
Source: https://medicinespatentpool.org/who-we-are/about-us