Research references: Diagnostics intellectual property and market monopoly landscape

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY AND TRADE

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Photograph by Aris Messinis

Hundreds of Indian activists protested in New Delhi on Monday against a challenge to the country's patent law by Swiss pharmaceutical giant Novartis. India produces affordable medicines that are vital to many people living in developing countries. Over half the medicines currently used for AIDS treatment in developing countries come from India and such medicines are used to treat over 80% of the 80,000 AIDS patients in MSF projects.

Photograph by Sheila Shettle

From 2017, MSF has conducted a series of analyses aiming to have a better understanding of the causes of market monopoly in the field of diagnostics for infectious diseases especially concerning TB, HIV/AIDS and HCV.

https://msfaccess.org/global-politics-pharmaceutical-monopoly-power

In the resource-limited settings where MSF works, the lack of access to affordable, adapted and simplified diagnostic tests for infectious diseases is an ongoing struggle. Where suitable diagnostics do exist, the manufacturers have control over the supply chain to the extent that it acts as a market monopoly.

In 2017, MSF conducted a series of analyses on the causes of this diagnostics market monopoly, especially for tuberculosis (TB), HIV and hepatitis C virus (HCV) tests used in MSF medical programmes. A patent landscape report examines in depth three point-of-care diagnostics for these infectious diseases: Xpert MTB/RIF (Cepheid), AlereQ HIV-1/2 Detect (Abbott), and OraQuick HCV Rapid Antibody Test (OraSure). A broad literature review of patents and diagnostics was also conducted by MSF with an external consultant and researchers. Finally, summary notes for global health and civil society organisations was produced, presenting key observations and potential areas for follow-up research to improve people’s access to lifesaving diagnostic tools.