15 February 2018
Geneva, 15 February 2018 – The Medicines Patent Pool (MPP) signed a collaborative agreement with the African Regional Intellectual Property Organization (ARIPO), an intergovernmental organisation that facilitates cooperation among 19 African states in patent and intellectual property issues. ARIPO will support the continued improvement of, and data collection for, MedsPaL, the MPP’s signature resource for patent and licensing information in low- and middle-income countries.
The MPP launched MedsPaL in 2016 to provide information on the patent and licensing status of HIV, hepatitis C and tuberculosis medicines. It expanded the database in late 2017 to include other patented medicines on the World Health Organization’s Essential Medicines List. Today, MedsPaL covers 6,800 national patent applications in more than 110 countries for more than 70 priority treatments.
ARIPO is the second regional patent organisation to sign a collaborative agreement with the MPP. The foundation also has a memorandum of understanding with the European Patent Office, as well as with the national patent offices of Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador and South Africa.
Unitaid funds the MPP’s HIV, hepatitis C and tuberculosis activities.
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, a tuberculosis treatment and two hepatitis C direct-acting antivirals.
Press and Media
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.