The combined efforts of the global community of people affected by TB, civil society organisations and national TB programs made "Johnson & Johnson " (J&J) to decide not to apply its patents on bedaquiline for the treatment of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis in 134 low- and middle-income countries.
Thus was officially confirmed by ,"Johnson &
Johnson" on September 29, 2023 - https://www.jnj.com/johnson-johnson-confirms-intent-not-to-enforce-patents-for-sirturo-bedaquiline-for-the-treatment-of-multidrug-resistant-tuberculosis-in-134-low-and-middle-income-countries
TBEC and Coalition partners in the EECA region have been actively involved in this international advocacy campaign on the urgent need for J&J to act to improve equitable access to bedaquiline-based treatment regimens.
In Ukraine, the Public Health Center (PHC) of the Ministry of Health appealed to the Director of Johnson & Johnson, requesting consideration of the possibility of waiving the use of a secondary patent on bedaquiline. This would enable the country to use high-quality generics at a significantly lower cost, ensuring the provision of medicines to a greater number of people in need.
In support of this official appeal from the Public Health Center of Ukraine, representatives of 25 NGOs and communities in Ukraine, under the initiative of the TB Europe Coalition signed a collective letter to the Director of J&J demanding the abandonment of the secondary patent on bedaquiline.
Similar advocacy letters as part of the international campaign were sent by representatives of Azerbaijan and Moldova. In Azerbaijan, 16 representatives from 12 NGOs and communities, under the initiative of the Public UNION “ "Saglamliga Khidmat" addressed the director of Johnson & Johnson with a strong demand to abandon the secondary patent on bedaquiline. In Moldova, under the initiative of the National Association of TB Patients "SMIT," 18 NGOs in Moldova made a similar resolute demand.
We thank all our colleagues who supported the campaign and its organizers - the Stop TB Partnership, the WHO Global TB Programme and Doctors Without Borders/Medicines Sans Frontiers!
