Johnson & Johnson Urged To Expand Access To Tuberculosis Medication

Global health aid agency Unitaid is advocating for expanded access to tuberculosis (TB) drug, bedaquiline, produced by Johnson & Johnson JNJ. The push comes as countries like South Africa, Belarus, and Ukraine grapple with high TB cases but limited access to the medication.

The agency has publicly urged J&J's CEO, Joaquin Duato, to make immediate moves to remove all secondary patents, thereby enabling generic versions of the drug to be made widely available. 

"Today, Johnson & Johnson continues to enforce secondary patents in many of the countries with the highest burden of DR-TB, hindering generic manufacturer competition and impeding broader access to this critical medicine," writes Unitaid's executive director Philippe Duneton, according to Reuters.

Unitaid's open letter to Duato underscores the urgency of addressing a health crisis that saw 1.6 million people die from TB in 2021, primarily in low- and middle-income countries. J&J has already reduced bedaquiline's price, but Unitaid says this is an "incomplete solution." 

J&J, in response, confirmed its commitment not to enforce patents for bedaquiline. The pharmaceutical giant assured that it would not allege infringement of the drug's patents as long as the generic versions are of good quality, medically acceptable, and used only in the 134 designated low- and middle-income countries.

The World Health Organization has described the TB situation, especially the multi-drug-resistant form, as a "public health crisis." 

Price Action: JNJ shares are down 1.33% at $153.70 at the last check Monday.

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Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.

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