STAT+: ‘Stuck in a rut’: As debate flares over access to medicines, the future of voluntary licensing is up in the air
ANNECY, FRANCE — At first blush, the deal was hailed as a breakthrough.
Last fall, Novartis agreed to license a best-selling cancer drug so that generic companies could make copies for distribution to 44 low- and middle-income nations, marking the first time a voluntary license was arranged for a cancer medicine. Until then, such deals typically involved drugs for infectious diseases, such as HIV and hepatitis C. One public health official said it might point to a “paradigm shift.”
