In the latest effort to mitigate the cost of hepatitis C drugs in a poor country, Doctors Without Borders is challenging a patent application that Gilead Sciences filed in China for its newest treatment.
The nonprofit organization hopes to prevent the drug maker from winning patent protection for Epclusa, which is the first pill to treat all six major subtypes of the liver disease and costs nearly $75,000 in the U.S. for a 12- week regimen, before any rebates or discounts. Doctors Without Borders argued the patents Gilead is seeking are not warranted under Chinese law.
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“Doctors Without Borders argued the patents Gilead is seeking are not warranted under Chinese law”. What ? “Doctors Without Borders” wants to destroy Gilead? A firm that invests in research must have profit and be able to use part of it to develop new and better drugs.