Medicines Patent Pool Announces Sub-Licensing Agreements For Hepatitis C Generics

By Jahan ‘Harry’ Taubman-Rezakhanlou for Intellectual Property Watch

The Medicines Patent Pool today announced its first round of sub-licensing agreements with four generic manufacturers for the production and sale of a generic line of Bristol-Myers Squibb’s daclatasvir to 112 lower-to middle income countries.

The initial list of sub-licences for the production of daclatasvir includes Cipla, Hetero and Emcure, all generic manufacturers with which the MPP has already partnered with in producing generic HIV antiretrovirals, according to the MPP press release.

Whilst India-based Natco, is a “a very welcome new partner” among this first round of firms who have signed a non-exclusive, royalty free agreements with Bristol-Myers Squibb, MPP said. The MPP is expected to announce a second round of sub-licensing agreements for daclatasvir soon, as submissions from other generic companies are still being assessed, according to sources.

Daclatasvir, when combined with sofosbuvir during a 12-week course, has a 100 percent cure rate for hepatitis C, depending on the patient’s initial liver condition.

Since November 2015, the MPP has expanded from only focusing on easing generic production of HIV antiretrovirals for lower-to-middle income countries to also licensing drugs that treat tuberculosis and hepatitis C.