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Today, Kayla Gu, MS1 at UCLA spoke to the University of California Board of Regents on behalf of Universities Allied for Essential Medicines (UAEM), Knowledge Ecology International (KEI) and the Union for Affordable Cancer Treatment (UACT). She urged UCLA to drop the patent claim in India on enzalutamide (Xtandi) that would bar affordable access to a lifesaving prostate cancer drug. Kayla knows the story of Xtandi quite well: she presented on the topic at Los Angeles Global Health Conference 2018: Looking In, Looking Out: Balancing Global and Local Priorities in the Current Political Climate on February 3, 2018 and in the following blog: The StoryRead More →

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On March 9, 2018, the Chile Ministry of Health issued two documents outlining its decision to recommend a compulsory license on hepatitis C virus (HCV) drug patents. The hepatitis C virus can lead to cancer of the liver and other serious and life threatening health issues. The new drugs to treat HCV are effective for many patients, but in many countries are so expensive that access is limited. When patent barriers are overcome, affordable generic versions of the drugs are available, and treatment access is dramatically improved. Dr. Gilberto Lopes, a member of UACT and also of the UACT Expert Advisory Board offered this statementRead More →

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UACT applauds the Chilean Congress resolution calling on the President to advance the compulsory licensing request on HCV drugs made in March 2017 by patients, advocates including Innovarte NGO, and elected officials. The resolution, Number 1014, passed by a 96-0 vote with one abstention, and includes the signatures of representatives across the entire political spectrum 1. In Chile, the private market price of sofosbuvir at the time of the compulsory licensing request was approximately $36,000 USD per patient. This price is well in excess of Chile’s GNI per capita of $14,100 USD 2. The Ministry of Health currently pays $7,000 USD for a three-month supplyRead More →

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The David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA has responded on behalf of the University of California to UACT’s recent letters on the Xtandi (INN:enzalutamide) patent in India. In a letter sent by post dated September 7, 2017, received on September 19, 2017, (copy  here)Dr. John C. Mazziotta, the Vice Chancellor for UCLA Health Sciences and the CEO of the UCLA Health System wrote to UACT, rejecting the request by UACT and others that the University abandon its appeal of a rejection of enzalutamide patent in India. Mazziotta did say “UC has brought to Medivation’s attention the concerns UACT has raised, ” but that wasRead More →

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Today, September 13, 2017, Emily Leonard, a US Navy veteran and UC San Diego alumna, spoke on behalf of UACT and Universities Allied for Essential Medicines before the University of California Board of Regents.  Ms. Leonard delivered a copy of the letter sent to the Regents on May 24, 2017 asking the University of California to drop its pursuit of a patent on the prostate cancer drug enzalutamide (sold by Astellas as Xtandi) in India. The Board of Regents has yet to reply to the May 24, 2017 letter, or a follow-up letter sent on August 9, 2017 to Regents member Sherry Lansing. You canRead More →