Medicines Patent Pool, ViiV Healthcare expand licensing agreement

The World Council of Churches – Ecumenical Advocacy Alliance (WCC-EAA) welcomes the 25 April announcement by the Medicines Patent Pool (MPP) and ViiV Healthcare of the geographic extension of their licensing agreement for dolutegravir (DTG) to cover all remaining lower middle-income countries (LMICs). The amendment to the 2014 licence specifically allows generic medicine distribution in four countries with patents – Armenia, Moldova, Morocco and Ukraine – that were not covered in the initial agreement. Dolutegravir is a promising new treatment that was included in the latest WHO guidelines as first- and third-line treatment.

The amendment to the 2014 licence specifically allows generic medicine distribution in four countries with patents – Armenia, Moldova, Morocco and Ukraine – that were not covered in the initial agreement. Dolutegravir is a promising new treatment that was included in the latest WHO guidelines as first- and third-line treatment.

“With the expansion of this licence, ViiV has ensured that another 270,000 people living with HIV can benefit from a new and potentially cheap antiretroviral which has fewer side effects and is less likely to lead to resistance,” says Astrid Berner-Rodoreda, HIV Advisor for Bread for the World and member of the EAA HIV Strategy Group.

This licence enables sales to any country in which DTG is not patented (regardless of patent status in the country of manufacture). This means that a number of upper middle-income countries will also be able to benefit from the procurement of generic versions of DTG. With this extension, the MPP-ViiV licence will now cover 94.2% of people living with HIV in LMICs. In addition, ViiV is the only company so far which has included the public sector of six upper middle-income countries in its original license with the MPP.

“We call on other companies to follow the example of ViiV to extend their licence agreements to all lower middle-income countries and include the public sector of upper middle-income countries,” says Francesca Merico, HIV campaign coordinator for the WCC-EAA.

The Ecumenical Advocacy Alliance, an ecumenical initiative of the World Council of Churches, is a global network of churches and related organizations committed to campaigning together on common concerns for justice and human dignity. Current campaign issues are HIV and AIDS, food security and sustainable agriculture.

More information on the Ecumenical Advocacy Alliance Live the Promise HIV Campaign