Ecuador

Gedeon Richter and Mithra have expanded their partnership on an in-development contraceptive, Estelle, to cover several Latin American territories on top of Europe and Russia.

Global free trade agreements are having a detrimental effect on savings that can be achieved by using generics and biosimilars across healthcare systems worldwide, according to a new IQVIA report hosted by the IGBA.

Public health advocates say that commercial concerns must take a back seat to health interests if COVID-19 technologies are to be made available to those who need them. But industry says that relaxing IP protections is not the solution and that many companies have already invested significant amounts of money in potential new treatments and vaccines.

Intellectual property rights are under the microscope as countries prepare to provide affordable and timely access to pandemic technologies.

Latin American countries are continuing to pursue a strategy of jointly negotiating medicine prices to get a better deal on expensive medicines. However, manufacturers have expressed doubt that this is the best way forward.

Ranbaxy's US arm has launched an authorised generic version of Pfizer's fixed-dose combination of atorvastatin-amlodipine besylate, Caduet, in the US, as part of an agreement between the two companies.

The US FDA has approved once-daily dosing of Abbott's fixed-dose combination HIV antiretroviral drug Kaletra (lopinavir/ritonavir (Abbott's Norvir)) for use in treatment-experienced adult patients in combination with other antiretroviral products.

Ecuador's president, Rafael Correa, is expected to sign imminently a declaration of public interest in access to medicines, the NGO, Essential Action has told Scrip. The move could eventually pave the way for the country to issue compulsory licences for patented medicines.

Ecuador's health ministry has banned the sale of non-prescription cold and flu remedies in response to the swine flu outbreak, it announced on Friday.

A number of NGOs are pushing for Colombian authorities to issue a compulsory licence for lopinavir plus ritonavir, Abbott's HIV/AIDS drug Kaletra, claiming that access to the antiretroviral is of public interest.