HIV/AIDS: America takes a first step towards universal access to treatment

[20 October 2010 - 16h47]

The United States has recently taken an important decision in the fight against HIV/AIDS. The American National Institute of Health (NIH) – in a way equivalent to INSERM (France’s National Institute of Health and Medical Research) – has officially undertaken to share certain of its patents with the Patents Pool for HIV medicines. Set up by UNITAID in July 2008, the purpose of this organisation is to facilitate access to treatments for HIV/AIDS in developing countries.

The agreement in question concerns certain patents for Darunavir, an antiretroviral drug that belongs to the protease inhibitor class. This drug has the advantage of being effective in cases of resistance to certain older treatments. Although significant, this agreement is not sufficient for the HIV Patents Pool to offer general access to the drug. Michel Sibidé, executive director of the United Nations HIV/AIDS programme (UNAIDS) is nevertheless delighted by this new development. He naturally invites “private and public partners, in particular pharmaceutical companies and research institutes, to follow this example”. This is because the principal patent holders of antiretroviral drugs are indeed the pharmaceutical laboratories.

For the French AIDES association, this agreement constitutes “an important precedent in support of this initiative launched by UNITAID”. Chair of the Medicines Patents Pool, Dr Charles Clift, is also delighted by “this first step, thanks to which we look forward to a productive collaboration with the NIH and other patent holders”. Robert Sebbag, Vice President Access to Medicines at Sanofi Aventis believes that “this initiative is heading in the right direction. It shows that things can change. The sacrosanct nature of intellectual property has been breached”. Above all, when it is a question of fighting an epidemic on the scale of HIV/AIDS.

UNAIDS estimates that there are around 15 million sufferers in need of antiretroviral drugs in developing countries. At present only 5 million of them have access to these drugs.

Source : UNAIDS, 30 September 2010; AIDES, 30 September 2010; UNITAID, 12 October 2010; interview with Robert Sebbag, 11 October 2010

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