To increase access to HIV drugs in developing countries, a U.N. agency came up with an an agreement.
The Joint U.N. Program on HIV/AIDS described the new license agreement between the Medicines Patent Pool and pharmaceutical company Gilead Sciences as a turning point for future private sector collaboration in sharing advances in the global fight against the human immunodeficiency virus, UPI.com reports.
The Medicines Patent Pool negotiates with patent holders to share their intellectual property with the Pool, then licenses it to other producers to ease the production of affordable generic medicines well-adapted for use in poorer countries, a UNAIDS release said Wednesday.
Older HIV drugs are used less commonly in high-income countries but have been used to treat those with HIV in Africa and low-income countries because they are generic and relatively cheap.
Despite some side effects, the drugs are still important and the risks are relative, researchers say.
Under the agreement, Gilead will share intellectual property on a range of HIV/AIDS drugs, and companies interested in producing generic versions of the medicines for developing countries will be able to approach the Patent Pool to negotiate licensing terms, UNAIDS said.
"This agreement between the Medicines Patent Pool and Gilead signals a new era in the response to HIV with private and public sectors working hand in hand for the best interests of public health," Michel Sidibe, the executive director of UNAIDS, said.
