ViiV Healthcare and the Medicines Patent Pool expand access to dolutegravir-based regimens for people living with HIV in Azerbaijan, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Malaysia with innovative new licensing agreement

Geneva, 30 November 2020 – ViiV Healthcare, the global specialist HIV company majority-owned by GlaxoSmithKline plc (“GSK”), with Pfizer Inc. and Shionogi Limited as shareholders, and the Medicines Patent Pool (MPP) today announced the signing of a new voluntary licensing agreement to enable greater access for dolutegravir (DTG) based regimens which have been recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) or the US Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) in certain upper-middle-income countries (UMICs). This new licensing agreement will include Azerbaijan, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Malaysia.

Recognising the specific challenges faced by these countries and in response to feedback from the HIV community and the governments, ViiV Healthcare and MPP have developed this first-of-its-kind agreement to enable increased access and affordability to generic DTG-based HIV treatment regimens, while also supporting continued investment in much needed innovation. Through this novel agreement, generic manufacturers will have the opportunity to supply DTG-based regimens at a significantly reduced price compared to the current local price, in turn enabling greater access to these medicines for people living with HIV in each country.

Charles Gore, MPP Executive Director said, “Increasing access to life-saving medicines for low- and middle-income countries is at the core of our mission and we have been able to achieve that over the last 10 years through strong partnerships that span industry, generics manufacturers, governments and civil society. This new and first-of-its-kind agreement with ViiV Healthcare, that is specifically aimed at increasing access in these upper-middle-income countries, will mean that people living with HIV in Azerbaijan, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Malaysia will now have greater access to affordable and quality WHO-recommended dolutegravir-based treatment regimens.”

Dr. Meg Doherty, Director of Global HIV, Hepatitis and STI Programmes at the World Health Organization said: “WHO recommends the use of dolutegravir (DTG) as part of the preferred first-line and second-line regimen for people living with HIV, including pregnant women and those of childbearing potential. WHO welcomes this licence and through our regional and country offices have worked alongside governments and MPP to ensure that this agreement responds to people’s HIV treatment needs in these countries.”

ViiV Healthcare and MPP will now work closely with governments and selected generic manufacturers to make generic DTG-based regimens available as soon as possible in the four countries.

Deborah Waterhouse, CEO ViiV Healthcare said, “We are 100% committed to our mission of leaving no person living with HIV behind and are proud to have built upon our existing partnership with MPP to enable improved access to dolutegravir in these upper-middle-income countries in line with WHO HIV treatment guidelines. Through this agreement, we have created an innovative model that enables improved access to treatment and increased affordability while supporting continued investment in research and development of much needed innovative medicines to help ensure better long-term outcomes for people living with HIV.”