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Bristol-Myers Squibb

Company: Bristol-Myers Squibb
Headquarters: New York, USA

These are the drug patents we want BMS to put in the pool and why we want them:

Atazanavir (ATV)
Brand name: Reyataz
This drug has been recently developed and belongs to the group of drugs mainly used in developing countries for patients whose initial treatment has failed. It’s one of a restricted group of drugs commonly used to treat patients whose initial medicines aren’t working effectively against the virus any more. For patients it’s much more user-friendly since it can be taken just once a day. BMS haven’t carried out any studies to see if the drug could be used by children under six years old. Putting these patents in the pool would give more treatment options for patients who need to switch to newer HIV/AIDS treatments

Didanosine (ddl)
Brand name: Videx
This drug is recommended by the World Health Organization to be used in combination with other antiretroviral drugs for treating patients who have failed on their initial or ‘first-line’ treatment – precisely where there are so few options currently available in developing countries. Putting didanosine in the pool could open up the way for a number of new combination therapies to be developed for these patients. The company also doesn’t provide a much needed child formulation of this drug for children in developing countries

Fixed-dose combinations
Bristol-Myers Squibb also co-holds the patents on combination drugs. These patents should go in the pool:

Tenofovir disoproxil fumarate/emtricitabine/efavirenz
Brand name: Atripla
Bristol-Myers Squibb owns the joint patent with Gilead and Merck on this widely used and effective triple combination therapy. Fixed-dose combinations are two or three drugs combined into one easy to take pill that can be taken twice or even just once a day. Atripla is really useful in that it only has to be taken just once a day. These triple combination pills have revolutionised HIV treatment through simplifying an incredibly complex treatment. This has meant that it’s been possible to scale up treatment much more widely in developing countries. For this reason, the patents on this combination drug must go in the pool.