1. Pink Sheet

Pharma’s Voluntary Licensing In India Successful In 2021 – But There Were Some Delicate Moments

 
• By Anju Ghangurde

Merck and Lilly tackle some early challenges before striking voluntary licensing deals for COVID-19 therapies with Indian firms. Data around the use of these drugs in low- and middle-income countries could also potentially make them ‘more acceptable’ elsewhere, experts say.

partnering caution signs
Voluntary Licensing - The Way Forward? • Source: Alamy images

The World Trade Organization COVID-19 TRIPS (the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights) waiver proposal put forth initially by India and South Africa may still have significant ground to cover in the New Year, but 2021 saw big pharma move deftly to seal voluntary licensing agreements with Indian firms for therapies to fight the coronavirus pandemic.

While these licensing deals are undoubtedly aimed at expanding availability and access in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), they also probably effectively helped lid any high-octane, patent-related acrimony in the developing world

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