2 February 2012
GENEVA, 2 FEBRUARY 2012: Emcure Pharmaceuticals, a key supplier of generic antiretroviral medicines in developing countries, has signed an agreement with the Medicines Patent Pool for the manufacture of several new HIV medicines for sale in developing countries, it was announced today.
Emcure will be able to manufacture several products licensed to the Pool by Gilead Sciences, including: emtricitabine (FTC), cobicistat (COBI), elvitegravir (EVG), and the fixed-dose combination of these medicines known as the Quad (a combination of FTC, COBI, EVG and tenofovir).
“Generic manufacturers play a central role in providing low cost HIV medicines and have helped increase the number of people receiving treatment in the developing world, so the rapid uptake of our licences by generic companies is a positive sign,” said Ellen ‘t Hoen, Executive Director of the Pool. Emcure is the third generic manufacturer to take licences from the Pool. “Emcure is excited about expanding our HIV portfolio by joining the Medicines Patent Pool, an innovative way to speed access to HIV drugs,” said Arun Khanna, Chief Operating Officer and Executive Director of Emcure.
Emcure is a top-15 company in the Indian pharmaceutical market and sells its products in over 76 countries across Asia, Africa, CIS, Europe, USA, Latin America and the Middle East. Emcure has an over 12-year track record producing medicines for HIV, which it currently sells in over 40 countries.
The Medicines Patent Pool, founded with the support of UNITAID in 2010, aims to bring down the prices of HIV medicines, and stimulate the development of needed new formulations, through access-oriented voluntary licences. The Pool’s voluntary licences are negotiated to maximise their public health impact, and the full terms and conditions of each licence agreement are made public on the Pool’s website.
Press and Media
The Medicines Patent Pool (MPP) is a United Nations-backed public health organisation working to increase access to and facilitate the development of life-saving medicines for low- and middle-income countries. Through its innovative business model, MPP partners with civil society, governments, international organisations, industry, patient groups, and other stakeholders to prioritise and license needed medicines and pool intellectual property to encourage generic manufacture and the development of new formulations.
To date, MPP has signed agreements with 22 patent holders for 13 HIV antiretrovirals, one HIV technology platform, three hepatitis C direct-acting antivirals, a tuberculosis treatment, a cancer treatment, four long-acting technologies, a post-partum haemorrhage medicine, three oral antiviral treatments for COVID-19 and 16 COVID-19 technologies.
MPP was founded by Unitaid, which continues to be MPP’s main funder. MPP’s work on access to essential medicines is also funded by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), Government of Canada, the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) and the Government of Flanders. MPP’s activities in COVID-19 are undertaken with the financial support of the Japanese Government, the French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs, the German Agency for International Cooperation, and SDC.