Oxfam response to Roche and Medicines Patent Pool announcement today

Today, pharmaceutical company Roche announced that it will contribute to the Medicines Patent Pool (MPP) by making its drug Valganciclovir affordable as a first step before licensing it to the MPP. The medicine is an anti viral drug that treats a type of blindness, caused by the Cytomegalo virus (CMV), which affects people with late stage HIV.

In response to the announcement Oxfam's senior health & HIV policy advisor, Dr Mohga Kamal-Yanni, said:

"Blindness caused by CMV is actually a neglected disease, so Roche's agreement with the Medicines Patent Pool is a step in the right direction in making this important medicine more affordable for people with HIV.

"This announcement should encourage other companies to submit their patents on key antiretrovials to the MPP, which are urgently needed to treat people living with HIV. We hope that the announcement opens the door for generic competition which is the sure way of decreasing medicines prices.

"Whilst big pharmaceutical companies' main interests lie in protecting their profit margins, there is a huge moral argument for them to give licences for affordable versions of their HIV medicines, given the fact there are still nearly 7 million people globally living with this deadly disease who get no treatment at all.

"It is also crucial that any new treatments that offer more effectiveness and lesser side effects are made affordable, so that we can see a future when HIV is no longer a death sentence for those who cannot afford medicines."