Press statement for immediate release

September 30, 2010

For more information contact:

Asia Russell, +1 267 475 2645/asia@healthgap.org

Matthew Kavanagh, +1 202 4862488/matthew@healthgap.org

Activists Applaud NIH Support for the Medicines Patent Pool
But it Won’t Fix President Obama’s Broken AIDS Funding Promises

(Washington DC) Today the National Institutes of Health (NIH) announced its support for the Medicines Patent Pool Foundation, an initiative designed to increase access to medicines for HIV in developing countries, and established with the support of UNITAID. The NIH today became the first entity to share patents it holds with the Medicines Patent Pool; the NIH also announced an intention to license other patents for HIV medicines that it holds.

"Hopefully this positive step by NIH will encourage drug companies including Gilead, Abbott, and ViiV to promptly license patents on HIV medicines that they hold to the Medicines Patent Pool as well, using the same positive licensing terms as NIH," said Brook Baker of Health GAP. "If other rights holders share their patents with the Patent Pool alongside NIH, medicine price reductions and the creation of novel fixed-dose combination medicines will follow, which will save lives."

While activists welcomed US government support for efforts to reduce the cost of HIV treatment, they criticized broken AIDS funding promises by President Obama, which are undermining efforts to scale up availability of HIV medicines in developing countries, where 64% of people in urgent need of treatment have no access. “This announcement is no substitute for the increased funding needed urgently to buy lowest-cost medicines so that the 10 million people waiting in line for access to HIV treatment can have hope,” said Asia Russell of Health GAP. “We urge the Obama administration to make a pledge of $6 billion pledge over three years to the Global Fund, which is the U.S. fair share. In addition, funding increases for the bilateral PEPFAR program are urgently needed; President Obama must make good on his campaign promise to scale up this life saving program by $1 billion each year—reversing the deadly trend of flat-funding.”

Phillip Douste-Blazy, the UN Under Secretary General for Innovative Financing for Development and the Chair of UNITAID said, “The Patent Pool will help lower prices of HIV medicines in developing countries, but of course that will not deliver the necessary tripling of people on treatment if, at the same time, budgets to buy drugs are flatlined.”

Next week, the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria will host a critical donor meeting, from Oct. 4-5 in New York. The Global Fund is the largest multilateral investor in the fight against AIDS, and projects it needs $20 billion between 2011-2013 in order to expand life saving HIV programs in poor countries. The White House has not yet made public the funding level it will pledge. While donor nations must double their funding commitments to the Global Fund over 2011-2013 in order to invest their fair share, most wealthy countries are contributing much less. For example, recent promises from France, Canada, Norway, and Japan average only 20% more rather than the 100% need. As a result, the Global Fund might have to deny technically-sound requests for lifesaving funds.

According to a recent PEPFAR report to U.S. Congress, it currently costs over $800 per person per year to put a patient on treatment through US-supported programs. "Efforts to reduce this unit price of treatment in the long term and to challenge drug company monopolies that restrict access to AIDS treatment are urgently needed," said Kaytee Riek of Health GAP. "The current PEPFAR plan calls for 'over 4 million people' to be on treatment by the end of 2014. But a much higher target is possible: at least 6 million people could be put on treatment over the same time period if costs are reduced a modest amount and funding is committed as promised. "

“We are particularly concerned that President Obama’s broken AIDS funding promises will prevent countries from acting on exciting new research that finally shows the path toward ending the AIDS crisis,” said Matthew Kavanagh of Health GAP. “Providing HIV treatment to all in need, before the worst clinical symptoms develop, saves lives and reduces both costs and new infections. We urge the Obama administration and all donors to change course and be the leaders who follow the science and put us on the path to end the AIDS crisis.”

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