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May 24, 2021

Comment: Role of Medicines Patent Pool (MPP) in Combating Covid-19 Pandemic

Author: Intern - Surbhi Nautiyal

As Covid-19 continues to wreak havoc there is an urgent need to make available related health technologies all across the globe. Cooperation among various key stakeholders is the need of the hour. Medicines Patent Pool (MPP) is one such procedure enabling access to Intellectual Property (IP) in a non-profit voluntary licensing mechanism with improving public health as one of its objectives.

The global health agency ‘Unitaid’ founded MPP in 2010 [1] with an objective of facilitating the creation of patent pools. MPP helps in negotiations of patent license agreements with patent holders by placing them in a pool and making them available to licensees sometimes in return for royalties. These licensing agreements are published on MPP’s website thereby maintaining transparency. Patent pools have long been recognized as a vital tool in removing obstacles in patent regimes and ensuring development of new products.

Collaboration, cooperation and solidarity have been at the core of tackling the pandemic. In such a scenario merging the patent license agreements negotiated by MPP with the manufacturing capability of generic companies will help in improving the availability of Covid-19 related drugs and vaccines in low and middle income countries (LMIC’s). In the past also MPP has worked out license agreement with companies like Bristol Myers Squibb, ViiV Healthcare [2] allowing generic manufacturers to supply over 15 billion doses [3] of Hepatitis B and HIV drugs to LMIC’s.

Another important feature of MPP is its patent and license database, MedsPaL. It is a free resource having a repository of selected patents, helping pharmaceutical entities in determining patents hindering access to new inventions, if not licensed properly. Through this MPP regularly updates the status of patented candidate products for example- Remedesivir, Favipiravir, Ritonavir and other emerging potential drug candidates [4]. Another feature was included to MedsPaL in March, 2020 wherein patent information about treatments currently being used to treat Covid-19 was added to the database.

Recently as many as 21 leading generic manufacturers including Hetero Labs, Sun Pharma, Lupin [5] etc joined a collaborative effort initiated by MPP by signing an open pledge for ensuring access to affordable Covid-19 treatment. Creating such patent pools will help in accelerating the production, distribution and timely access of vaccines, medicines and diagnostic kits in regions which are in dire need and who are facing an acute shortage of these products.  Non exclusive voluntary licensing mechanisms like MPP if negotiated efficiently will help in bolstering the production of crucial life saving medicines at a fraction of a cost.

References:

1. https://medicinespatentpool.org/who-we-are/about-us/

2.  https://medicinespatentpool.org/news-publications-post/covid-19-generic-pledge-press-release/#:~:text=The%20companies%20joining%20the%20effort,easily%20accessible%20for%20generic%20manufacturers.

3. Ibid

4. https://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=ba09f470-2269-4ae3-92c0-c52f769633ac

5. Supra 2.

Disclaimer: Views, opinions, interpretations are solely those of the author, not of the firm (ALG India Law Offices LLP) nor reflective thereof. Author submissions are not checked for plagiarism or any other aspect before being posted.

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