Roche to add HIV blindness drug to Patent Pool
This article was originally published in Scrip
Roche is slashing the price of valganciclovir, which treates cytomegalovirus (CMV) – a viral infection that can cause retinitis (blindness) in people with HIV – by up to 90% in developing countries under a new agreement with the Medicines Patent Pool.
As a second step, Roche and the Medicines Patent Pool are also entering a licensing and technology transfer negotiations to encourage development of generic versions of valganciclovir.
Currently, valganciclovir is mainly used for organ transplant patients. Due to access issues, it is hardly used in HIV-related CMV, so there is insufficient demand to generate generic competition through licensing agreements.
The Medicines Patent Pool notes that this differs substantially from other HIV medicines which it has identified for in-licensing. For this reason, the agreement with Roche is the first agreement that the Medicines Patent Pool has conducted that includes both a pricing and a licensing element.
"The agreement announced [on 4 August] will make a more affordable oral treatment for CMV available immediately and also catalyse the creation of a sustainable generic market," said Greg Perry, executive director of the Medicines Patent Pool.
"There is a vicious cycle with CMV: since the current treatment options are either unaffordable or inconvenient, HIV clinics rarely screen for the disease. Because clinics rarely screen for CMV, there is little demand for treatment and therefore little demand for easier to administer, affordable solutions. As a result, preventable blindness continues to occur in people living with HIV, especially in Asia," explained Dr David Heiden, a CMV expert working with Seva and Pacific Vision Foundations.
The Medicines Patent Pool and Roche have also agreed on the licensing of the antiretroviral saquinavir, if a significant medical need is identified. The WHO recommends saquinavir as an alternative ARV in special situations and where other preferred treatments are not available.
Gilead Sciences and ViiV Healthcare (majority owned by GlaxoSmithKline) have already signed agreements with the Medicines Patent Pool for HIV medicines (scripintelligence.com, 1 March 2013).