Founded in 2010 by the UN organization Unitaid, the Medicines Patent Pool works with governments, patent holders, civil society, international bodies, patient groups and other stakeholders to prioritize and license new and existing drugs for HIV, hepatitis C and tuberculosis that are particularly needed in developing countries, based on the concept of patent pooling.

MPP licenses are non-exclusive and non-restrictive, and there are provisions for generic firms to sell the licensed products outside the agreed territory if there is no patent infringement. Terms of licenses are “fully transparent” and company patent information is publicly disclosed. Licensees are free to combine different medicines and develop appropriate fixed-dose combinations.

All MPP licenses are publicly available in their entirety on the MPP website, something the MPP describes as “unprecedented in the pharmaceutical field.”

The MPP’s originator partners and patent holders are AbbVie, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Boehringer Ingelheim, Roche, Gilead Sciences, Janssen, Merck Sharp & Dohme, the University of Liverpool, ViiV Healthcare, and the US National Institutes of Health.

Its generic manufacturing partners are Aurobindo, Beximco, Cipla, Desano, Emcure, Hetero, Huahai, Laurus Labs, Lupin, Micro Labs, Mylan, Natco, Sandoz, Strides Shasun, and Zydus Cadila.

Medicines Patent Pool Expands From HIV To Hepatitis C & TB, With 100 Projects On The Go

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