Patents for HIV/AIDS Drug Being Challenged

PUBPAT, The Public Patent Foundation, has been granted its request from the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office that the office will review the four key patents for HIV/AIDS drugs belonging to Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ: GILD)

The drug that is known generically as tenofovir disoproxil fumarate (TDF) is that to which all four of the patents relate. This drug is a vital component in the fight against HIV and AIDS. It is marketed under the brand name of VIREAD and is a part of the ATRIPLA combination product.

On their website, it is reported that PUBPAT filed in March their challenge to the patents. PUBPAT submitted prior art that that the Patent Office did not review before the patents were granted to Gilead Sciences, the pharmaceutical company stationed in Foster City, California. PUBPAT also detailed how the prior art invalidates a patent.

1.2 million American patients are included in the 40 million worldwide who suffer from HIV/AIDS. Gilead Sciences claims the exclusive right, by patent, to be the sole distributor of the tenofovir disoproxil fumarate (TDF) drug. Therefore, the United States Food and Drug Administration does not allow anyone but Gilead to distribute the drug in the United States.

PUBPAT's Executive Director, Dan Ravicher, said, "Every person suffering from HIV/AIDS has a right to get the best medical treatment science can offer, without any unjustified impediments placed in their way...this includes Americans infected with HIV/AIDS, who are entitled to the best pharmaceuticals possible without undeserved patents making them exorbitantly expensive."

The Patent Office, upon review of the filing by PUBPAT, feels that indeed "substantial questions" have been raised regarding the patents and their validity. The Patent's Office had agreed to PUBPAT's request to view the patents, and now the Patent Office will reexamine as to whether or not they actually deserve to exist.