The Medicines Patent Pool (MPP) is currently inviting interested product developers to indicate an interest in a sublicence for investigational hepatitis C (HCV) treatment ravidasvir. Pharco Pharmaceuticals granted the MPP a non-exclusive, royalty-bearing licence which allows sublicensees to develop, make, have made, use, file for regulatory approval, sell, import and export ravidasvir. The full text of the agreement can be found here.

Per the licence’s terms and conditions, the MPP seeks to grant sublicences to any entity that can demonstrate a willingness and capacity to further develop and commercialise the product and make the product widely available in the Territory. The MPP will also require any sublicensee to agree upon reasonable diligence requirements and development milestones.

Interested parties should also submit as much detail as possible to help MPP understand whether, and to what extent, a granted sublicence will help improve sustainable access to improved regimens to treat HCV. Applications should include an assessment of an organisation’s state of readiness, experience in HCV research and development, and access to resources for further development.

Please contact the foundation’s Business Development Director Sandeep Juneja for further clarifications about proposal format and content.

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.