DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) — South Africa, Colombia and other countries that lost out in the global race for coronavirus vaccines are taking a more combative approach towards drugmakers and pushing back on policies that deny cheap treatment to millions of people with tuberculosis and HIV. The pills are especially important for South Africa, where TB killed more than 50,000 people in 2021, making it the country’s leading cause of death. In July, J&J’s patent on the drug expired in South Africa, but the company had it extended until 2027, enraging activists who accused it of profiteering. Back then, President Nelson Mandela’s government in South Africa eventually suspended patents to allow wider access to AIDS drugs. Bedaquiline was not rolled out as a standard treatment in South Africa until 2018.

Persons: they’ve, ”, Brook Baker, Johnson, Christophe Perrin, Peter Maybarduk, Petro Terblanche, Afrigen, Nelson Mandela’s, “ Mandela, Terblanche, Lynette Keneilwe Mabote, Andy Gray, Gray, Zolelwa, Bedaquiline, “, Sifumba, ___ Cheng Organizations: Health Organization, Northeastern University, One, Johnson, J, Viiv Healthcare, WHO, Public Citizen, Pfizer, Moderna, Terblanche, Big Pharma, South, University of KwaZulu, World Health Organization, AP Locations: CAPE, South Africa, Colombia, Belarus, Ukraine, Colombian, Washington, Africa, Natal, South African, London

☆ Aid agency urges Johnson & Johnson to improve access to tuberculosis drug
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

FILE PHOTO:The logo of Johnson & Johnson is seen on a Brussels' office of the company in Diegem, Belgium September 21, 2023. REUTERS/Yves Herman/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsGENEVA, Sept 29 (Reuters) - Global health aid agency Unitaid has written to Johnson & Johnson's (JNJ.N) CEO, Joaquin Duato, urging "immediate action" to expand access to the company's tuberculosis drug bedaquiline, which is protected by patents hindering generic alternatives. The agency is urging J&J to remove all secondary patents and ensure that lower prices are available to all countries with high TB cases. TB, a bacterial disease that mostly affects the lungs, is preventable and treatable, but 10 million people catch it annually. Around 1.6 million people died from TB in 2021, almost entirely in low- and middle-income countries, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

Persons: Johnson, Yves Herman, Unitaid, Joaquin Duato, Philippe Duneton, J, Emma Farge, Jennifer Rigby, Devika Nair, Susan Fenton, Elaine Hardcastle, Leslie Adler Organizations: Johnson, REUTERS, Rights, UN, Assembly, World Health Organization, WHO, Thomson Locations: Brussels, Diegem, Belgium, South Africa, Belarus, Ukraine

CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) — U.S.-based pharmaceuticals company Johnson & Johnson is being investigated in South Africa for allegedly charging “excessive” prices for a key tuberculosis drug, the country's antitrust regulator said Friday. It is desperately-needed by South Africa, where the infectious disease is the leading cause of death, killing more than 50,000 people in 2021. South Africa has more than 7 million people living with HIV, more than any other country in the world. The group says the contracts show J&J charged South Africa 15% more per vaccine dose than it charged the much richer European Union. Pfizer charged South Africa more than 30% more per vaccine than it charged the African Union, even as South Africa struggled to acquire doses while having more COVID-19 infections than anywhere else on the continent.

Persons: Johnson, Bedaquiline, Janssen, Norbert Ndjeka, Ndjeka, Intiative, J Organizations: —, Johnson, J's, Janssen Pharmaceuticals, South Africa's, World Health Organization, WHO, Global, J, bedaquiline, Commission, Pfizer, Health, Union, African Union, Initiative, ___ AP Locations: CAPE, South Africa, J's Belgium, Africa, Africa's, ___, africa

☆ J&J, India's Lupin cut prices for tuberculosis drug in lower-income countries
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

FILE PHOTO-The Johnson & Johnson logo is displayed on a screen on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, U.S., May 29, 2019. The drug will be available at the lower prices through the Stop TB Partnership's Global Drug Facility, which is the largest procurer of TB treatments. J&J, which sells bedaquiline under the brand name Sirturo, reached an agreement with the Stop TB Partnership in July to allow the coalition to supply generic versions of the drug through the Global Drug Facility. J&J has said it is false to suggest its patents prevent access to the drug. But J&J could further increase access to the drug by withdrawing its secondary patents on bedaquiline in all high-burden countries, said Christophe Perrin, TB advocacy pharmacist with MSF's Access Campaign.

Persons: Johnson, Brendan McDermid, bedaquiline, Atul Gawande, John Green, Médecins, Christophe Perrin, Manas Mishra, Devika Organizations: New York Stock Exchange, REUTERS, Johnson, United Nations, TB, United States Agency, International Development's Global Health Bureau, Drug Facility, Global Drug, Thomson Locations: New York, U.S, Bengaluru

Search resuls for: "Bedaquiline"

4 mentions found