The Medicines Patent Pool has signed its first agreement to make a cancer treatment more accessible in low- and middle-income countries — but because only a small number of patients are expected to benefit from the deal, its significance is being hailed as largely symbolic by advocates.
The voluntary licensing agreement is for nilotinib, a lifesaving drug that is used to treat chronic myeloid leukemia, or CML, and is listed as an essential medicine by the World Health Organization.
It is being promoted as a breakthrough in several ways. It’s MPP’s first deal with Swiss pharmaceutical giant Novartis. It is also its first license agreement targeting a noncommunicable disease. And it’s the first time a company has licensed a patented cancer medicine through a public health-oriented voluntary licensing mechanism.