Earlier this month, the Malaysian AIDS council, an umbrella group of 49 civil society groups, asked the Malaysian Minister of Health to begin a government sponsored program to provide second line treatment to people with HIV/AIDS. In order to make this feasible, the Council requests that the Ministry grant a compulsory license for government use under Section 84 of the Patents Act for patents related to Lopinavir+Ritonavir, an important antiretroviral sold under the brand name Kaletra by Abbott.
The letter requesting the program and the compulsory license is here.
Malaysia’s Patents Act is here.
The letter notes Kaletra is a WHO-recommended second line medicine for HIV/AIDS, but is priced at a level unaffordable by the majority of Malaysian People with HIV/AIDS, most of whom are currently unable to access second line treatments through the public sector. However, “a government use license for Abbott’s patents would authorize Malaysia to import these generics and provide them to the public through government programs.”
For more information, see the Pharmalot coverage of the compulsory licensing request
