UN sent a letter to the Ukrainian court

CF All-Ukrainian Network of People Living with HIV informs that the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) has sent a letter to the Ukrainian court to support the cancellation of patent on the HIV/AIDS drug Lopinavir/Ritonavir.

“This is the first precedent in the history of the independent Ukraine when such an influential organization gives its expert opinion related to the patent law,” emphasizes the Head of the Network Coordination Council Dmytro Sherembey. “Today, the monopoly patent holder for this drug is the pharmaceutical company AbbVie Inc., USA; for this reason, the Ukrainian market can not receive more affordable, so-called generic drugs, which are vital for patients with HIV.”

Despite common sense and the pressure of patients’ organizations, judges have been postponing the process in the interests of the monopoly company for almost a year and a half.

“Ukraine is the second largest country in the region with regard to growing number of people living with HIV. Generic drugs are important means to improve access to HIV medicines, which are necessary to overcome the epidemic all over the world, including Ukraine. Monitoring of world prices for antiretroviral drugs confirms that prices for generics are much lower than producers’ ones,” as emphasized in the UNAIDS letter.

The next session of the Kyiv Economic Court of Appeal will be held on September 19, 2017. Activists intend to seek the court decision to send the patent for an independent examination. In their opinion, the disputed patents do not meet the requirements of the legislation on novelty and inventive level, and the legal monopoly belongs to the company-patent holder. If the patent is cancelled, Ukraine will be able to buy these drugs for 125,000 Ukrainian HIV patients.