Gilead gets Sovaldi patent approval in India despite opposition
Gilead has been granted a patent for its hepatitis C drug Sovaldi (sofosbuvir) in India, despite concerns over the cost of the drug.
The application was approved on Monday, May 9, by the Indian Patent Office (IPO).
Earlier this year, LSIPR reported that advocacy group Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) had urged the IPO to reject Gilead’s application.
In February this year, the IPO also heard arguments from non-profit group the Initiative for Medicines, Access & Knowledge (I-MAK), which opposed the application.
Sovaldi is used to treat hepatitis C, understood to affect around 150 million people across the world.
At the moment, the price of a Gilead-produced pill is around $1,000, but MSF and I-MAK argue it is too expensive and that patent protection should be refused in the world’s poorest jurisdictions.
Gilead has voluntarily made a licensing agreement with 11 companies to sell a lower-cost generic version of the drug. Details of the agreement have not been revealed.
The agreement prompted the Indian Pharmaceutical Alliance to drop its opposition to the patent application.
Gilead has been contacted for comment but a spokesperson has previously been quoted as saying that intellectual property protection does not hinder access to affordable medicine and that it supports a sustainable model of voluntary generic licensing.
“This licensing programme enables the manufacture and distribution of high-quality, low-cost versions of the company’s medicines for HIV, hepatitis B and hepatitis C,” the spokesperson added.
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