Geneva, 31 October 2017 — The Medicines Patent Pool and TB Alliance signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to facilitate third-party development of sutezolid-containing tuberculosis regimens. The MoU follows the sublicensing agreement signed by both organisations in March 2017 granting TB Alliance the rights to develop sutezolid, a promising antibiotic drug candidate, in combination with other TB drugs for drug-susceptible and drug-resistant TB patients.

Under the terms of the new collaboration, TB Alliance and the MPP will encourage third-party investigators interested in developing sutezolid and committed to responsible development and commercialisation of the compound, and reciprocal regulatory access to data and study results. Support to investigators will primarily consist of providing regulatory access to all data and study results so that no sutezolid work need be repeated in order to study the drug, and sale of clinical or preclinical supplies at cost. TB Alliance will establish an Independent Review Committee to evaluate product developers’ study protocols and development plans.

The MPP licensed sutezolid from patent holder Johns Hopkins University in January 2017.

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Access the press release in Spanish

About the Medicines Patent Pool

The Medicines Patent Pool is a United Nations-backed public health organisation working to increase access to HIV, hepatitis C and tuberculosis treatments in low- and middle-income countries. Through its innovative business model, the MPP partners with industry, civil society, international organisations, patient groups and other stakeholders to prioritise, forecast and license needed medicines and pool intellectual property to encourage generic manufacture and the development of new formulations. To date, the MPP has signed agreements with nine patent holders for thirteen HIV antiretrovirals, one HIV technology platform, two hepatitis C direct-acting antivirals and a tuberculosis treatment. The MPP was founded and is funded by Unitaid.