SpicyIP Tidbit: Indian generic companies now step into MPP

Indian generics Aurobindo Pharma Limited and MedChem, yesterday joined the Medicines Patent Pool (MPP) for the manufacture of several antiretroviral medicines. While Aurobindo is a well established generic unit which already produces antiretrovirals, MedChem is apparently a new comer into the HIV field. [The MPP is a patent pool which seeks to facilitate the innovation and production of ARVs in developing countries -- we have written on it before here]

This will allow Aurobindo to have access and produce the products that Gilead recently introduced into the pool -- emtricitabine (FTC), cobicistat (COBI), elvitegravir (EVG), and the fixed-dose combination of these medicines known as the Quad (a combination of FTC, COBI, EVG, and tenofovir). As the licenses negotiated with Gilead were unbundled, Aurobindo is not required to take up Tenofovir, which was the other product that Gilead included in their negotiations with the MPP but for which there is no product patent in India. According to the press release, this will allow them to sell tenofovir to a larger number of countries without having to pay royalties. 

Readers will recall that in a previous post, there were mention of some criticisms about the Gilead license and it's potential effects. This will be examined and looked into in a future post.