Doctors Without Borders

Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders (MSF) has filed a ‘patent opposition’ in India to prevent US pharmaceutical company Pfizer from getting a patent on the pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV13), so more affordable versions can become available to developing countries and humanitarian organisations.

This is the first time a vaccine (biosimilar) patent has been challenged in India by a medical organisation, with the goal of millions more children being protected against deadly pneumonia. Pneumonia is the leading cause of childhood death, killing almost one million children each year.

Currently, pharmaceutical companies Pfizer and GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) are the only two manufacturers of the vaccine, which could prevent a large number of these deaths. Says said Dr Manica Balasegaram, Executive Director of MSF’s Access Campaign: “To make sure children everywhere can be protected from deadly pneumonia, other companies need to enter the market to supply this vaccine for a much lower price than what Pfizer charges.”

One vaccine producer in India has already announced that it could supply the pneumonia vaccine for $6 dollars per child (for all three doses) to public health programmes and humanitarian organisations like MSF. This is almost half the current lowest global price of $10 dollars per child, which is only available to a limited number of developing countries via donor funding through Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance.

MSF is one of the world's leading independent international medical relief organisations, working in around 65 countries worldwide and with operational centers and national offices in 19 countries. Its mandate concerns emergency relief, launches operations in areas where there is no medical infrastructure or where the existing one cannot withstand the pressure to which it is subjected.

In most cases, relief programmes change to rehabilitation projects that may run for several years after the most urgent needs have been met. For more than 40 years, we have been providing medical help to people caught in many kinds of catastrophes, including armed conflicts, disasters such as floods and earthquakes, epidemics of disease and malnutrition crises.

The action its take comes in multiple forms: Emergency public healthcare, including medicine and surgery; Mass vaccination campaigns; Water and sanitation systems; Therapeutic and supplementary nutrition; Distribution of drugs and supplies; Training and health education; Organisation or rehabilitation of health structures; and Medical assistance within existing health structures.