Dates: 12 October 2017
Guadalajara, Mexico
On Friday 13 October 2017, the MPP convened a symposium at the 48th Union World Conference on Lung Health on The role of public health licences to accelerate development and access to tuberculosis (TB) drugs. This session reviewed the experience of MPP’s first tuberculosis licence.
MPP General Counsel Chan Park explained how MPP adapted its HIV and hepatitis C model for TB, given the need to facilitate the clinical development of early stage pipeline products. Executive Director at Universities Allied for Essential Medicines Merith Basey discussed the importance of public health considerations for universities like Johns Hopkins University in licensing their technologies. Executive Director at the Critical Path to Tuberculosis (TB) Drug Regimens (CPTR) Consortium Debra Hanna addressed the role of data pooling in accelerating the development of regimens for TB. Finally, Scientific Director at the International Union against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease Paula Fujiwara explained how new initiatives for re-thinking how TB research & development is conducted, such as the Life Prize, can be instrumental in encouraging the development of TB regimens that can treat all forms of TB.
More information on the programme
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.