Therapeutic RUF patent issues briefing

Persistent high rates of child mortality in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia will not be reduced if malnutrition is not addressed more aggressively. This is a medical emergency. The research and development of ready-to-use food (RUF) for the treatment of malnutrition has revolutionized the ability to address this disease on a large scale. MSF is supporting the urgent scale-up of treatment programs through expanded funding and supply of RUF. This briefing note considers potential patent barriers to the scale-up of production and increased competition in the supply of RUF and proposes solutions to address these barriers.