RESEARCH ARTICLE


The UNITAID Patent Pool Initiative: Bringing Patents Together for the Common Good



Jorge Bermudez*, Ellen 't Hoen
UNITAID, 20, Avenue Appia, WHO Headquarters, CH-1211, Geneva 27, Switzerland

Article Information


Identifiers and Pagination:

Year: 2010
Volume: 4
First Page: 37
Last Page: 40
Publisher ID: TOAIDJ-4-37
DOI: 10.2174/1874613601004020037

Article History:

Received Date: 28/4/2009
Revision Received Date: 22/6/2009
Acceptance Date: 1/7/2009
Electronic publication date: 19/1/2010

Article Metrics

CrossRef Citations:
16
Total Statistics:

Full-Text HTML Views: 4063
Abstract HTML Views: 2348
PDF Downloads: 792
Total Views/Downloads: 7203
Unique Statistics:

Full-Text HTML Views: 1693
Abstract HTML Views: 1093
PDF Downloads: 517
Total Views/Downloads: 3303



Creative Commons License
© Bermudez and 't Hoen; Licensee Bentham Open.

open-access license: This is an open access article licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/), which permits unrestrictive use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

* Address correspondence to this author at the UNITAID, 20, avenue Appia, WHO Headquarters, CH-1211, Geneva 27, Switzerland; Tel: +41 22 791 50 65; Fax: +41 22 791 48 90; E-mail: bermudezj@who.int


Abstract

Developing and delivering appropriate, affordable, well-adapted medicines for HIV/AIDS remains an urgent challenge: as first-line therapies fail, increasing numbers of people require costly second-line therapy; one-third of ARVs are not available in pediatric formulations; and certain key first- and second-line triple fixed-dose combinations do not exist or sufficient suppliers are lacking. UNITAID aims to help solve these problems through an innovative initiative for the collective management of intellectual property (IP) rights – a patent pool for HIV medicines. The idea behind a patent pool is that patent holders - companies, governments, researchers or universities - voluntarily offer, under certain conditions, the IP related to their inventions to the patent pool. Any company that wants to use the IP to produce or develop medicines can seek a license from the pool against the payment of royalties, and may then produce the medicines for use in developing countries (conditional upon meeting agreed quality standards). The patent pool will be a voluntary mechanism, meaning its success will largely depend on the willingness of pharmaceutical companies to participate and commit their IP to the pool. Generic producers must also be willing to cooperate. The pool has the potential to provide benefits to all.