MSF urges Indian Patent Office to reject Gilead Sovaldi patent
Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) has urged the Indian Patent Office (IPO) to reject a Gilead Sciences patent application covering Sovaldi (sofosbuvir).
On Friday, February 26, the IPO heard arguments from non-profit group the Initiative for Medicines, Access & Knowledge (I-MAK), which has opposed the application. The group has complained that the applied-for invention is based on “old science” and is therefore ineligible for protection.
MSF has supported the opposition.
Sovaldi is used to treat hepatitis C, which is understood to affect around 150 million people across the world. Around 700,000 people are estimated to die from the disease every year.
MSF and I-MAK have argued that the granting of the patent would eliminate generic competition in the market for sofosbuvir-based drugs and increase prices, leaving treatment inaccessible to millions of people suffering from hepatitis C.
“Gilead says this drug is priced based on the value it provides, but a cure hardly anybody can afford is worthless,” said Isabelle Andrieux-Meyer, viral hepatitis adviser at MSF.
Tahir Amin, co-founder of I-MAK, added: “Gilead wants the world to think their licensing deals have solved the global problem of access to this medicine, but today countries like Thailand, Malaysia and Brazil are being asked to pay thousands of dollars for sofosbuvir from Gilead when Indian generic versions of the drug are now available for as little as $355 per 12-week treatment.”
A spokesperson for Gilead told LSIPR: "We believe that innovation should be recognised and we strongly defend our intellectual property.
"These proceedings do not impact agreements with our licensed Indian manufacturing partners to enable access to low-cost, high-quality hepatitis C medicines in developing countries throughout the world," he added.
The Indian Pharmaceutical Alliance and Natco Pharma dropped their opposition following an announcement from Gilead that it would offer licences to a number of generic companies to manufacture the drug.
Last year, the IPO rejected another patent application for the Sovaldi drug following an opposition from I-MAK. China’s State Intellectual Property Office also rejected a Gilead patent application for Sovaldi in June.
