´When you look at the amount
of Johnson & Johnson’s profit
that comes from developing countries
it really is small beans,´
Diarmaid McDonald
Patents held by drugs companies are a big reason why more than nine million people in the developing world are not getting the HIV medicines they need. So the creation in July 2010 of the Medicines Patent Pool – which encourages the pharmaceutical giants to loosen their grip on licences so that cheaper, better and more accessible HIV medicines can be made – was seen as a key victory for common sense.
But, hold the party poppers, there’s a massive hitch. Some of the main players, notably Johnson & Johnson, are refusing to negotiate with the Pool, putting a huge number of lives at risk.
‘It seems Johnson & Johnson have decided that their own business interests are more important than the effect of joining the Pool could have on the health of millions of people around the world,’ says Diarmaid McDonald, spokesperson for the Stop AIDS Campaign.
Johnson & Johnson holds patents on three new HIV drugs that are desperately needed in the Global South. And, as some medicines are built from several patents from different sources, the company’s refusal to play ball means some cheap drugs can’t even be made with patents that have been licensed to the Pool by others.
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But with companies like Johnson & Johnson showing no signs of coming to the table any time soon, the Patent Pool is on shaky ground. Around 30 children die every hour as a result of AIDS. It is deeply ironic that a company trading on a ‘No more tears’ family-friendly image is not prepared to do more to help save children’s lives.(Más)
Invite Johnson & Johnson to the Patent Pool Party
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