The World Health Organization has published an analysis of the patent situation for new hepatitis treatments, and a call for possible pharmaceutical products for prequalification.
The patent landscape follows a resolution from the World Health Assembly requesting the WHO director general to assist member states in ensuring equitable access to quality, effective, affordable and safe hepatitis C treatments, according to the WHO.
The WHO is providing analysis for seven treatments: ABT-450, daclatasvir, dasabuvir, ledipasvir, ombitasvir, simeprevir, and sofosbuvir. Patents are held by AbbVie, Bristol-Myers Squibb Company, Gilead Sciences, and Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson.
Working papers identify the most relevant patents with respect to the medicines, and identify in which countries these patents have been filed and granted. Thomson-Reuters has been mandated by the WHO to carry out that analysis.
WHO also announced expanded prequalification to hepatitis, inviting along with a number of other agencies, expressions of interest in product evaluation for prequalification.
The prequalification announcement is available here.
Image Credits: Flickr: Taki Steve