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Business News/ Science / Health/  Medecins Sans Frontieres to legally challenge Pfizer’s patent on pneumonia vaccine
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Medecins Sans Frontieres to legally challenge Pfizer’s patent on pneumonia vaccine

Medecins Sans Frontieres also raises the matter with the government, urging it to issue a compulsory licence for Pfizer'S pneumonia vaccine

The India patent office last week granted Pfizer a patent for Prevnar 13 pneumonia vaccine in spite of opposition from the health group, which had first challenged the patent and filed a patent opposition in March 2016. Photo: ReutersPremium
The India patent office last week granted Pfizer a patent for Prevnar 13 pneumonia vaccine in spite of opposition from the health group, which had first challenged the patent and filed a patent opposition in March 2016. Photo: Reuters

In what is turning into a battle between Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) and Pfizer, the non-profit health advocacy group has decided to legally challenge the patent granted to the US pharma giant for its pneumoccocal conjugate vaccine (PCV).

Simultaneously, MSF has also raised the matter with the government, urging it to issue a compulsory licence.

“We are looking at various options. We have already raised the issue with the government at a high-level meeting on 25 August. The PCV patent has to be tackled. While an immediate solution could be issuing a compulsory licence, we are also looking at legal options," said Leena Menghaney, South Asia head for MSF’s Access campaign.

Compulsory licenses are authorizations given to a third-party by the government to make, use or sell a particular product or use a particular process which has been patented, without taking the patent owner’s permission. Generally compulsory licences are considered only in cases of national emergency and a health crisis.

The India patent office last week granted Pfizer a patent for Prevnar 13 pneumonia vaccine in spite of opposition from the health group, which had first challenged the patent and filed a patent opposition in March 2016. This was the first time a vaccine (biosimilar) patent was challenged in India.

Currently, pharmaceutical companies Pfizer and GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) are the only two manufacturers of the vaccine. MSF’s contention is that Pfizer has priced PCV13 (marketed as Prevnar) out of the reach of many developing countries.

The approval came almost a decade after Pfizer subsidiary Wyeth applied for grant of a patent in 2007. Menghaney said that the “patent will guarantee an extended market monopoly for many years to come. Such evergreening practices will hamper India’s role as ‘pharmacy of the developing world,’ supplying governments and procurers like MSF with affordable medicines and vaccines," she said.

Emerging as one of the leading causes of mortality among children under five years of age, India has the highest number of pneumonia and diarrhoea deaths among children in the world. Prevnar 13 is used for the prevention of pneumococcal pneumonia and invasive diseases caused by 13 streptococcis pneumoniae strains. The Indian government introduced the vaccine this year in its national immunisation programme in five states as part of the first phase.

According to a Pfizer spokesperson, “Prevnar 13 was launched in India in 2010. The vaccine is available at discounted prices under the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunisation (GAVI)—an international public—private partnership for improving access to vaccines. Supported by extensive clinical research and real-world experience, each dose of PCV 13 requires 400 different raw materials, 580 manufacturing steps, 678 quality tests and two and a half years to produce. Pfizer remains committed to further enhancing access of this vaccine in India, both in the market as well as through partnership with the government to expand introduction in the public program."

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Published: 29 Aug 2017, 12:53 AM IST
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