About Medicines Patent Pool
- The Medicines Patent Pool (MPP) has signed sub-licence agreements with the India-based companies Eugia, Hetero, Dr Reddy’s Laboratories, and the Indonesian firm BrightGene.to make generic versions of the drug Nilotinib of the Switzerland-based pharmaceutical corporation Novartis.
- The drug is used for the treatment of chronic myeloid leukaemia, a type of blood cancer.
- These first sub-licence agreements that the MPP, a United Nations-backed group working towards increasing access to, and facilitating the development of, life-saving medicines for low- and middle-income countries, has signed for a cancer treatment drug are the result of a licence agreement signed between it and Novartis Pharma AG in October 2022 for their patented cancer medicine.
- Nilotinib is sold under the brand name Tasigna and marketed worldwide by Novartis.
- Information released by the MPP said the selected manufacturers can make generic versions of Nilotinib in India and seven middle-income countries.
- They can also supply it in 44 territories included in the licence through a non-exclusive licence agreement, subject to local regulatory authorities.
- The licence allows developing and supplying generic versions of Nilotinib in seven middle-income countries.
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Practice MCQ
Consider the following statements regarding “Nilotinib” recently seen in the news
1. It is a drug to treat lung cancer
2. Medicines Patent Pool (MPP) has signed a sub-licence agreement to make generic versions of the drug Nilotinib
3. Nilotinib is sold under the brand name Tasigna
4. As per MPP selected manufacturers can make generic versions of Nilotinib in India only
How many of the above statements is/are correct
(A) Only one
(B) Only two
(C) Only three
(D) All four
Scroll down for answer
Ans. B
