Janssen block Patent Pool access to darunavir, rilpivirine and etravrine

In a press release on 19 December 2011, the Medicine Patent Pool announced that Johnson and Johnson, the parent company for Janssen/Tibotec, have decided not to allow licensing of its antiretroviral products as part of the international collaboration to enable sustained and affordable access to latest HIV medicines in poor countries.

The Medicine Patent Pool, founded and financed by UNITAID, seeks to increase access to HIV medicines by negotiating with pharmaceutical companies for voluntary licenses for ARVs that are still covered by patents. The work of the Pool has received support from the World Health Organization, UNAIDS, the Global Fund to Fight HIV, TB, and Malaria, and the G8.

Licensing agreements have already been developed with Gilead Sciences and the US National Institutes of Health, with ongoing negotiations with Boehringer-Ingelheim, Bristol-Myers Squibb, F. Hoffman LaRoche, Sequoia Pharmaceuticals, and ViiV Healthcare (GSK/Pfizer).

Generic companies contribute a royalty to make lower cost versions of new HIV treatments for use in developing countries.

Source: Patent Pool press release. Johnson & Johnson says ‘no’ to joining the Medicines Patent Pool. (19 December 2011).