Abstract
Since 1996, when antiretroviral (ARV) treatments started being guaranteed to people living with HIV in Brazil, the government has faced the challenge of ensuring sustainability of this policy within a context of incorporating patented medicines. This article sought to analyze the historical series of the price of lopinavir/ritonavir (LPV/r) in Brazil and in the international market also considering the initiatives to challenge patent barriers between 2001 and 2012. The methods used were mapping initiatives to challenge LPV/r patent barriers and the analysis of historical series of its price in Brazil and in the international market. Results show that, between 2001 and 2003, there were efforts to use compulsory licensing as a threat. From 2005 to 2007, initiatives by different satkeholders were identified: declaration of public interest, pre-grant opposition ("support to examination") and civil action. From 2006 to 2008, compulsory licensing initiatives in other countries resulted in a price reduction in Brazil. Between 2009 and 2012, there was a 30% reduction in the Brazilian purchasing price.
Highlights
The first cases of AIDS in the world were reported in the late 1970s but they were only diagnosed in 1982
In order to compare Brazilian and international prices, prices for the brand (Abbott) and international generic alternatives were obtained from the documents Accessing ARVs: Untangling the Web of Price Reductions for Developing Countries from 2001 to 2012 10,11,12,13,14,15,16,17,18,19,20,21
In Brazil, the Industrial Property Law (LPI; Law 9,279/96) was approved to become compliant to TradeRelated Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (Trips) Agreement and included provisions that went beyond the minimum requirements of the agreement, having negative consequences such as high prices for the ARV adopted by SUS 22,23,24,25
Summary
The first cases of AIDS in the world were reported in the late 1970s but they were only diagnosed in 1982. Antiretroviral (ARV) treatments started being offered by the government in 1991, but it was only in 1996 that free distribution of the medicines to people living with HIV was established. This allowed that the guarantee of access to treatment could be more structured [2,4]. We assume that even if these initiatives do not lead to the patent’s rejection, revocation or licencing, they may have effects on the dynamics of medicines price The outline of this path seeks to analyze the historical series of LPV/r prices in Brazil and in the international market in light of the initiatives to challenge patent barriers. In order to do so, we assume that there is a relationship between these initiatives and the medicines price, suggesting a possible effect of the former on the latter
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