Social Leverage of Intellectual Property: Road to the Development of Better Therapy for Tuberculosis

Abstract

Current TB drug development is beset with many problems. There is a perceived lack of commercial return on investment, as the vast majority of TB patients come from impoverished areas of the world. Clinical trials for new TB drugs are complex, protracted and very expensive. Therefore, the development of new anti-tuberculosis drugs requires simultaneous forward planning of the design of the trials that will be required for licensing purposes. In this article we briefly review the current state of new TB drug development and discuss issues related to intellectual property (IP), with a special emphasis on how IP can facilitate rather than hinder the development of better TB drugs. We also list and discuss the major patent applications that underpin TB drugs that have entered prominent clinical trials and additional applications that were filed over the last five years for drugs resulting from basic upstream research.

Cryptococcal meningitis: improving access to essential antifungal medicines in resource-poor countries

“…A multicentre African phase 3 trial (ISRCTN 45035509) is comparing standard with short-course amphotericin B-based regimens and a purely oral combination (ie, fl uconazole plus fl ucytosine). Additionally, socially responsible licensing of intellectual property 79 should apply to new antifungals or formulations made through research funded by the public or by foundations. To our knowledge, only one new long-acting azole-like compound is in development in a joint project between Viamet pharmaceuticals and the NIH Therapeutics for Rare and Neglected Diseases programme.…”