A licensing agreement has been signed by pharmaceutical giant Novartis to increase access to a vital leukaemia treatment, marking the first-ever such agreement for a cancer drug.
The deal will enable selected manufacturers to develop, manufacture and supply generic versions of nilotinib, a twice-daily oral medication used to treat chronic myeloid leukaemia (CML), reports AFP.
“Access to high-quality cancer medicines is a crucial component of the global health response to the cancer burden," said Charles Gore, head of the Medicines Patent Pool, the United Nations-backed public health organisation working to increase access to life-saving medicines in poorer countries.
While the remaining patent period for nilotinib was “relatively short”, he said the new deal set “a vital precedent I hope other companies will follow”.
The drug is listed on the World Health Organisation's List of Essential Medicines for the treatment of adults and children over one-year-old who suffered from CML.
Nilotinib offers an alternative to people who are resistant or intolerant to imatinib, the first-line treatment for CML – about 20% of those who contract the disease.
The deal includes seven middle-income countries: Egypt, Guatemala, Indonesia, Morocco, Pakistan, the Philippines and Tunisia, where patents on the product are pending or in force, MPP said.
AFP article – First-ever licencing deal struck for cancer drug (Open access)
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