AbbVie waives license restrictions on HIV drug that may treat COVID-19

Maia Anderson -

AbbVie is waiving all restrictions on licenses for its HIV drug, Kaltera, to allow it to be made anywhere in the world after it was shown to be somewhat effective in treating COVID-19 in preliminary trials, STAT reported. 

A nonprofit group called the Medicines Patent Pool has had licensing rights to the drug for the last five years. The deal was criticized for being too restrictive, as high-income countries were denied access to the drug, according to STAT

Since Kaltera has shown to be somewhat effective in treating COVID-19, AbbVie said it would dedicate the intellectual property rights for the drug to the public. 

“The big win here may be for people for HIV. Access to [Kaltera] has been a battle for years,” Ellen ‘t Hoen, a senior researcher in the global health unit at the University of Groningen in the Netherlands, told STAT

Read the full article here

 

Copyright © 2024 Becker's Healthcare. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy. Cookie Policy. Linking and Reprinting Policy.