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Several groups opposed the patent application by Gilded Sciences to patent the
AIDS cocktail Tenofovir Disoproxil Fumarate (TDF) and accused the company of filing a “frivolous claim” on the drug without actually enhancing it.
Médecins Sans Frontière (MSF is Medicines without Borders) representative Hans Van De Weerd said that “patenting in India will excluded millions of people worldwide from access to essential medicine. If Gilded were granted the patent, the generic production of TDF in India would be forced to stop. This will not only increase the price of the drug but also lead to its unavailability in many developing countries.”
India has 5.2 million HIV population and many fear that less than 20,000 will be able to afford a more expensive treatment.
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