Geneva, 27 November 2019 – The Government of South Africa announces today the roll-out of HIV medicine dolutegravir (DTG). The World Health Organization recommends DTG-based treatment as the preferred first- and second-line regimen for people living with HIV. The Medicines Patent Pool (MPP), through public health-oriented licensing agreements with ViiV Healthcare signed in 2014, has facilitated accelerated access to quality-assured, affordable versions of DTG and its combinations, including TLD, the fixed dose combination of tenofovir disoproxil fumarate, lamivudine and DTG. South Africa, benefiting from these access agreements, is the country with the highest number of people living with HIV, with 7.7 million people affected by the disease, and with the largest HIV treatment programme in the world with 4.8 million people already on antiretroviral treatment, largely through the public health sector. “The Government of South Africa has been a leader in the HIV response and a valued partner of MPP for...

Geneva, 28 October 2019 — The Medicines Patent Pool (MPP) today announced a licence agreement with Pfizer to facilitate the clinical development of sutezolid, an investigational medicine for the treatment of tuberculosis (TB). The drug candidate, if further developed in combination with other drugs, could be used to more effectively treat patients diagnosed with TB, particularly multidrug-resistant TB (MDR-TB). “TB, especially MDR-TB, has become a health security threat and finding new treatments for patients is now an urgent global public health priority. We must accelerate progress if we aim to put an end to the epidemic by 2030,” said Charles Gore, Executive Director of the Medicines Patent Pool. “The licence agreement we just signed with Pfizer is key for any organisation willing to further develop sutezolid and make it available for people who need it the most, especially in low- and middle-income countries.” Pfizer is granting MPP a non-exclusive, worldwide and royalty-free licence allowing potent...