Medicines Patent Pool broadens collaboration with Gilead Sciences

The Medicines Patent Pool (MPP) has entered into a new licensing agreement with US biotech firm Gilead Sciences (Nasdaq: GILD) for tenofovir alafenamide (TAF), a promising new medicine currently in Phase III studies for the treatment of AIDS, it was announced at the AIDS 2014 conference taking place in Melbourne, Australia.

The licence will allow manufacturers in India and China to develop generic versions of TAF for 112 countries that are home to more than 92% of people living with HIV in the developing world. The MPP is a United Nations-backed organization founded in 2010 by UNITAID to increase access to HIV treatment and spur new innovation worldwide.

“The Gilead-MPP agreement aims to fast-track the production of low-cost versions of TAF for low- and middle-income countries soon after its approval in the United States,” said Greg Perry, executive director of the Medicines Patent Pool. “This continues MPP’s novel approach of licensing promising new medicines in advanced stages of development or soon after registration to speed delivery to countries most affected by the HIV epidemic.”