The Indian patent office has granted the country’s first patent on an anti-AIDS drug. The patent was granted to the pharmaceutical company, Pfizer, in June of 2007 for Maraviroc, a new generation HIV drug, but this only came to light at the very end of last year.
In fact the drug is still only just under investigation by the European Patent Office.
Further patents have also recently been granted in India to the Swiss-based pharmaceutical company, Roche, in India for two other drugs used to treat Hepatitis C and cytomegalovirus retinitis – diseases which are common in HIV patients.
The news has alarmed patient groups and other health activists who say the patents will shut out production of affordable generic versions of the drugs by Indian generic manufacturers, depriving patients unable to afford the high price originator products.
India is a major supplier of affordable, generic medicines to the developing world. It was concerns over the granting of patents on essential medicines that led to last year’s successful mobilisation against Novartis. The Swiss-based pharmaceutical company took India to court over its patent law in an attempt to ensure wider patenting of pharmaceutical products.
Note:
Maraviroc belongs to a new class of anti-AIDS treatments that has shown promising results in people for whom other treatments no longer work. The drug works in a different way to other AIDS drugs by blocking the HIV virus’ entry to the body’s immune system cells. It is produced by Pfizer and was approved by the US FDA in August 2007. The drug costs US$ 10 500 per patient per year.
Valgancyclovir, marketed by Roche as Valcyte, is used to treat Cytomegalovirus retinitis. In oral form, the drug costs over US$ 10 000 for a four month treatment.