MEP calls for patent pool ahead of World AIDS Day
Ahead of World Aids Day (1st Dec), a Lib Dem MEP has warned that the prices of AIDS medicines are on the rise again and called for the creation of a patent pool that would help make treatment more affordable and effective for patients suffering from the disease. Fiona Hall MEP has signed a written declaration in the European Parliament calling on governments to support steps taken by UNITAID, an international drug purchasing facility, to create a voluntary patent pool for AIDS medication. The aim is to get different patent-holders to make their patents and other relevant intellectual property available to others, in exchange for royalties from those who use the patents. It is hoped that the patent pool will lower monopoly-related barriers to innovation, accelerate the availability of lower-priced new medicines and reduce the transaction costs of negotiating licences.
