April 14, 2008

Brazil May Reject Tenofovir Patent

On April 9, Brazil’s Ministry of Health issued a decree signaling that it may reject a patent request from the pharmaceutical company Gilead Sciences, Inc. for its AIDS drug Tenofovir, Reuters reports (reuters.com, 4/10).

The Health Ministry said that low-cost availability of the drug is “in the public interest,” and that patenting the drug in the country would generate “expectations of monopoly rights with an impact on the price of the product.”

“If no patent is issued, Brazil will be free to negotiate prices of the drug, be it generic or brand name,” a source from the Health Ministry told Reuters.

Brazil has long been praised for its AIDS prevention and treatment programs, in which HIV-positive people in need of antiretroviral medications can receive them for free. If the Tenofovir patent is rejected, Brazil may import a generic version of the drug because of a World Trade Organization clause that allows it to do so in the name of public health.

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