Johnson & Johnson not to enforce patents on TB drug

US-based drug maker Johnson & Johnson has announced that it will not enforce patents for Sirturo — its brand name for bedaquiline, used to treat multidrug-resistant tuberculosis — in 134 low- and middle-income countries.

This move follows global pressure on the company to not pursue secondary patents on its breakthrough tuberculosis drug, including the Indian Patent Office’s rejection of J&J’s secondary patent application for the fumarate salt of bedaquiline.

Bedaquiline is the first drug for tuberculosis, or TB, to be globally approved in over 40 years and is less toxic and more effective than traditional TB treatments.

The announcement will finally pave the way for unfettered access to affordable generic versions of bedaquiline for all people living with drug-resistant tuberculosis who need the drug in low- and middle-income countries. This success is a testament to the persistent efforts of TB activists, civil society, and governments prioritizing public health over corporations’ interests,” said the Access Campaign, which is part of Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), an international medical humanitarian organization.

The group notes that after J&J lost its attempt to extend its monopoly in India, national TB treatment programs from Ukraine and Belarus also requested the company to drop its secondary patents in their countries.