HIV DRUGS: INDIAN PATENT OFFICE TO HEAR PLEA AGAINST US FIRM

The Indian Patent Office is set to hear the objections of Sankalp Rehabilitation Trust against the patent claims filed by US-based pharmaceutical company Gilead Sciences on HIV drug lenacapavir.

Administered twice a year, this injectable drug has garnered attention for its potential in HIV prevention after multiple clinical trials demonstrated superior efficacy to standard oral preventative medicines known as pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP). According to UNAIDS, this new HIV drug “can offer hope of ending AIDS if all have access”.

Sankalp, a civil society organisation working with people vulnerable to HIV, opposed the patent applications in 2021 on grounds that the drug consists of a previously known compound and should not be considered an invention under Indian Patents Act.

At a virtual conference Tuesday, Leena Menghaney, South Asia head, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) Access Campaign, told reporters that Gilead has several patent applications in India on lenacapavir. Two of these applications, filed in 2020, seek patents on the choline and sodium salt in the drug.

Sankalp contends that two of Gilead’s patent applications on the salt forms of lenacapavir are not innovative. Indian patent law prohibits “evergreening”, a practice by which pharmaceutical corporations seek patents on routine modifications to extend their drug monopolies beyond the standard 20-year period.

“Granting these patents, which would last until August 2038, could hinder access to affordable generic versions of lenacapavir. Affordable generic HIV medicines have been crucial in keeping people alive globally, including in India,” said Eldred Tellis, director, Sankalp Rehabilitation Trust, at the media conference.

Researchers from Liverpool University have estimated that generic lenacapavir can be produced at a fraction of Gilead’s price of $42,250 per year. With generic competition, it is estimated to be initially $100 per person per year, with further reductions to $40 per year.

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2024-09-17T21:09:11Z dg43tfdfdgfd