Madam, – Pfizer in Dublin could soon be helping to provide better treatments for millions of people living with HIV/Aids depending on a decision to be taken by its head office. The company is one of nine of the world’s largest pharmaceutical companies being asked to share their secrets on key HIV medicines so that more potent and affordable treatment can be developed.
The emergency aid organisation Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders treats more than 140,000 HIV/Aids patients in 30 countries, but many have developed resistance to their medicines and urgently need to switch to newer, more effective drugs. But the drugs are either unavailable or too expensive for patients in developing countries.
Unitaid, the international drug purchasing agency, is setting up a scheme for companies such as Pfizer to share their research into HIV drugs with other manufacturers, who would then pay it a share of the royalties on any new drug. We hope that Pfizer will take this opportunity to choose the lives of the poorest over the protection of their patents. – Yours, etc,