Dates: 24 July 2017
Convention Centre, 2 Place de Porte Maillot, 75017 Paris, France
The foundation co-hosted a satellite symposium on accelerating access to new antiretrovirals in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) at this year’s International AIDS Society Conference on HIV Science in Paris, 25 July. Jointly sponsored by the World Health Organization and Unitaid, along with the governments of South Africa and France and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, the satellite explored a range of issues key to ensuring LMIC uptake of improved HIV treatment options. ViiV Healthcare’s Helen McDowell, Unitaid’s Robert Matiru, and Aurobino’s Umesh K. were among presenters, as were representatives from AfroCAB and the MPP. Greg Perry and Marco Vitoria, WHO Medical Officer, chaired a post-panel roundtable discussion. Lelio Marmora, Unitaid Executive Director, provided closing remarks.
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The Medicines Patent Pool (MPP) is a United Nations-backed public health organisation working to increase access to and facilitate the development of life-saving medicines for low- and middle-income countries. Through its innovative business model, MPP partners with civil society, governments, international organisations, industry, patient groups, and other stakeholders to prioritise and license needed medicines and pool intellectual property to encourage generic manufacture and the development of new formulations.
To date, MPP has signed agreements with 22 patent holders for 13 HIV antiretrovirals, one HIV technology platform, three hepatitis C direct-acting antivirals, a tuberculosis treatment, a cancer treatment, four long-acting technologies, a post-partum haemorrhage medicine, three oral antiviral treatments for COVID-19 and 16 COVID-19 technologies.
MPP was founded by Unitaid, which continues to be MPP’s main funder. MPP’s work on access to essential medicines is also funded by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), Government of Canada, the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) and the Government of Flanders. MPP’s activities in COVID-19 are undertaken with the financial support of the Japanese Government, the French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs, the German Agency for International Cooperation, and SDC.