Third World Network
Full article: http://twn.my/title2/health.info/2019/hi190601.htm
Excerpt:

Geneva, 5th June (TWN): Member states participating in the 72nd World Health Assembly (WHA) renewed their commitment to end tuberculosis (TB) while expressing serious concerns about drug-resistant TB (DR-TB), the treatment of which is presently costly and beyond the reach of many national TB programmes…

…Two new medicines considered important for the treatment of drug resistant TB are bedaquiline and delamanid, both of which are highly priced. According to Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) “[t]he estimated price of longer individualised treatment regimens could now reach more than US$2,000 for people who need at least 18 months of bedaquiline, which would represent a 50 per cent price increase over previous standard treatment. For people who might need both bedaquiline and delamanid for as long as 20 months, the price increase could reach 500 per cent, with a treatment regimen priced at around $9,000.”…

…Bedaquiline and delamanid are extensively patented in countries with a high TB burden such as China, India, Indonesia etc, blocking entry of generic competition and more affordable sources of the treatment. Members states and civil society interventions during the WHA reflected the challenges they face in this regard…

…The Maldives, speaking on behalf of South East Asia, called for more affordable treatment and diagnostics through the use of TRIPS flexibilities and local drug production.

The social and economic determinants of TB have to be considered when addressing the disease as highlighted by several countries such as Argentina, Mexico, Morocco and Paraguay, which also pointed out to the importance of adopting a human rights approach…

Médecins Sans Frontières International (MSF) asked member states to update their national guidelines to include oral bedaquiline-containing MDR-TB treatment regimens and to reject proposals that block the full use of TRIPS flexibilities, including compulsory licensing. MSF also called upon countries to reject value-based pricing and tiered pricing models for TB medicines, diagnostics and vaccines, which hinder affordable access.

…Medicus Mundi International, supported by Peoples Health Movement and Third World Network highlighted the high cost of treatment of MDR-TB i.e. delamanid and bedaquiline, noting that the cost of delamanid is 1700 USD for a six-month course which compromises the ability of States to provide treatment to patients. They added that while South Africa negotiated and reduced the price of bedaquiline to USD400, research has shown that it could be produced and sold at a profit for only $16 per month at volumes of 108,000 treatment courses per year. The statement also observed that bedaquline is patented in most of the high burden countries such as India, China, Russia and South Africa, calling upon member states to make use of legitimate TRIPS flexibilities such as compulsory license or government use to ensure access at affordable prices, rather than relying on unsustainable donation programmes. Countries where TB medicines are not patented were called upon to explore opportunities for generic production to supply those with high TB burden.

The International Federation of Medical Students’ Association, the World Medical Association and the International Pharmaceutical Students’ Federation, supported by the International Veterinary Students’ Association recalled the urgent need for Members States and donors to fill the funding gap for new therapeutic options, prevention, surveillance and diagnostics. They further stressed that “TRIPS flexibilities should be utilized to reduce the cost of MDR-TB treatment regimens and the rollout of point-of-care diagnostics, particularly for rapid diagnosis of MDR and XDR-TB”