PETALING JAYA: Health director-general Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah says Malaysia is set to provide affordable HIV medicines pre-qualified by the World Health Organization (WHO) after being included in a licensing agreement with a global specialist HIV company.
The Medicines Patent Pool (MPP) signed a voluntary licensing agreement with ViiV Healthcare to expand access to dolutegravir-based treatment regimens to certain upper-middle-income countries, namely Azerbaijan, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Malaysia.
In a series of Twitter posts, Noor Hisham said this was a crucial milestone for Malaysia as it is not often that Malaysia is listed under the MPP, adding that affordable versions of the medicines were urgently needed to end the HIV crisis globally.
“Malaysia will be able to provide WHO pre-qualified, more affordable versions of these essential medicines to people living with HIV, in need of treatment.
“We hope the competition between generic manufacturers enabled by this licence will bring us quality medicines at lower prices.
“We hope that It will open up more doors to gain rapid access to life-saving medicines. The health ministry wishes to thank MPP and all parties involved who have made this incredible decision a reality,” he said. – FMT