UNITAID, Medicines Patent Pool work to improve access to medicines in developing world

Devex features a sponsored interview with Dennis Broun, executive director of UNITAID, which uses innovative financing and "its understanding of how to address market shortcomings to improve access to quality-assured treatment and diagnostics for HIV and AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria patients in low-income countries." Broun discusses innovations in global health financing, lessons from UNITAID for the global health community, and solutions to overcoming obstacles to entering markets, ensuring supply chains, and improving access, according to the news service. "We are faced with problems of intellectual property, for instance; this is why we have set up what is called the Medicines Patent Pool to help arrange voluntary licenses for HIV drugs, as patents can block access," Broun notes, according to Devex (Rosenkrantz, 4/23). The Center for Global Health Policy's "Science Speaks" blog highlights a presentation given last week at the Global AIDS Policy Partnership meeting by Medicines Patent Pool Executive Director Greg Perry (Aziz, 4/22).