The signing of agreements by U.S. pharmaceutical giant Gilead with seven Indian generic drug manufacturers, licensing them to make its blockbuster drug sofosbuvir for treatment of killer disease Hepatitis C could be a show-case of how innovative and generic companies could work together for access to affordable medicines, Indian Pharmaceutical Alliance (IPA) Secretary-General D. G. Shah said here on Tuesday.
“I welcome this change, and believe that together generic and innovative industry can make wonders and earn goodwill for the much maligned pharmaceutical industry,’’ he added.
Sofosbuvir is considered a revolutionary treatment for Hepatitis C as it has a high cure rate. Gilead’s deal allows the generic manufacturers to sell in 91 countries.
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“Gilead’s licensing terms fall far short of ensuring widespread affordable access to these new drugs in middle-income countries, where over 70 per cent of people with Hepatitis C live today,’’ Rohit Malpani, Director of Policy & Analysis, Medicins Sans Frontieres (MSF) Access Campaign, said in a statement.
“We welcome the interest of generic companies to scale up production of new direct-acting antivirals (DAAs) and Gilead’s decision to make the final agreement public; however, a highly restrictive voluntary licence that blocks millions of people with Hepatitis C from affordable prices is not acceptable,’’ Mr. Malpani said.
While the drug regimen is sold at $ 84,000 in the U.S. and $50,000 in France, Indian generic manufacturers have the discretion to determine their selling price. Mr. Shah said Gilead had no restrictions regarding quantum of production “and they have not determined selling price and have offered the technology transfer. Generic manufacturers are aware about the price sensitivity of a market like India and will surely price the drug accordingly.’’
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