Unitaid applauds Johnson & Johnson’s decision, announced Friday 29 September, not to enforce its secondary patents for bedaquiline, a critical medicine for treating drug-resistant tuberculosis (DR-TB). The decision will affect people in 134 low- and middle-income countries, many of which have the highest burden of disease and have struggled to supply the critical medicine due to high costs.
This news comes after months of campaigning by the TB community, including an open letter from Unitaid’s Executive Director to J&J dated 22 September urging immediate action.
“Bedaquiline underpins all the shorter regimens for treating DR-TB, effectively holding the key to tackling drug resistance and turning the tide on this dangerous and debilitating form of the disease,” said Dr Philippe Duneton, Executive Director of Unitaid.
“Unitaid welcomes the significant step to improve access to this vital TB medicine and is pleased to see that the scope of countries covered includes upper-middle income countries that are often left out of access agreements.”
“Unaffordable medicines, diagnostic challenges and insufficient access to services have created a situation in which most people suffering from DR-TB never get treated. J&J’s decision will help progress efforts to address the high cost of treatment. Unitaid has invested close to US$300 million over the past decade to improve DR-TB testing and treatment and will continue to support efforts to improve DR-TB care. We are pleased to see J&J playing its part to enable critical medicines to reach communities that need them,” said Dr Duneton.
To increase legal certainty for generic manufacturers, Unitaid urges J&J to withdraw their secondary patents in low- and middle-income countries, including any pending applications pertaining to bedaquiline. In the interim, the announcement from J&J is a significant move in the right direction.
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