Campaigners say US govt should have remdesivir patent rights

The  PrEP4All campaign has argued that the US government should own joint patent rights for remdesivir, the  Gilead Sciences antiviral which is the only drug approved anywhere for treating COVID-19.

The health campaign made the claims in a  report published with  New York University School of Law’s Technology Law & Policy Clinic earlier this month.

PrEP4All has made itself an adversary of GIlead through its campaign to “ break the patent” and end Gilead’s exclusivity on HIV drug Truvada (embicitrane/tenofovir).

Truvada is used in a drug combination for pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), which, if taken correctly, can reduce the chances of HIV transmission in high-risk individuals by up to 99%.

The campaign says the cost of the drug, up to $1,600 a month per patient, is too high and has warned against Gilead enjoying similar exclusivity over remdesivir.

The group’s latest report argues that, because  US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) scientists contributed to the discovery of remdesivir (as they did with Truvada), their contribution should be reflected in the resulting patent rights.

“Our analysis indicates that the US government likely has a legal right to claim co-ownership of remdesivir—or at least co-ownership of the core US patents that cover the chemical structure of remdesivir—as well as methods of using the remdesivir to treat various diseases,” said the report, co-authored by PrEP4All’s James Krellenstein and NYU law school’s Christopher Morten.

The report added: “If the US government co-invented remdesivir, with substantial investment by the American public in its development, why should Gilead alone profit and control who can manufacture it?”

Gilead has so far agreed to  license remdesivir to five generic manufacturers around the world, mostly for distribution in low-to-middle income countries.

The licences are royalty-free until a vaccine becomes available, or another drug is approved for treating the disease.

The US has so far allowed the use of remdesivir for “emergency use” in seriously ill patients, rather than approving it outright. Japan has gone further, formally approving the drug for use in treating COVID-19.

Remdesivir is not thought to be able to cure the disease, but a clinical trial found slightly improved outcomes for patients treated with the antiviral.

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