Health GAP press release
177 prominent organizations leading the fight against HIV from around the world sent a letter to Merck’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Robert M. Davis, demanding his commitment to a global access strategy for MK-8527 covering price, overcoming patent barriers, product registration and more for all low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). MK-8527 is a promising long-acting HIV prevention pill, taken monthly as PrEP, that is in late stage clinical development.
The letter calls for transparent and fair pricing, at or below $40 per year for MK-8527 for all LMICs, comparable with generic daily oral PrEP. Endorsers also demand that “Merck should commit to non-exclusive voluntary licensing agreements, such as with the Medicines Patent Pool, now, before regulatory approval, to ensure generic production of the active pharmaceutical ingredients and the finished product can begin as soon as possible… Critically, these licensing agreements must include all countries classified as low- and middle-income counries — not just low-income countries and high-incidence nations, or a subset of middle-income countries, but upper-middle-income countries as well.”
Read the full press release here.
Access the open letter here.
Source : Health GAP
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