NextBillion - An Initiative of the William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan

Monday, June 3, 2013

Will the new crop of hepatitis C treatments form the next battleground between the pharmaceutical industry, poor nations and patient advocates? A new report from the Global Commission on Drug Policy, which includes former Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker and billionaire businessman Richard Branson, suggests compulsory licenses should be pursued when pricing talks with drugmakers fail.

“Governments should enhance their efforts to reduce the costs of new and existing hepatitis C medicines – including through negotiations with pharmaceutical companies to ensure greater treatment access for all those in need. Governments, international bodies and civil society organizations should seek to replicate the successful reduction in HIV treatment costs around the world, including the use of patent law flexibilities to make them more accessible,” the report recommends (here is the report).