Cape Town, South Africa — Medical advocacy groups welcomed Johnson & Johnson’s decision not to enforce his patent on a critical tuberculosis drug, allowing it to be produced at much lower prices, after South African authorities opened an investigation into the conglomerate.
The South African Competition Commission, in a statement on 5 July, said it had decided not to prosecute a complaint against J&J on “allegations of abuse of dominant position”, which were raised after J&J and his subsidiary last year filed a secondary patent for bedaquiline, used to treat drug-resistant tuberculosis.
Experts argued that the patent prevented generic producers from making cheaper medicines, threatening the treatment of tens of thousands of people in South Africa. Tuberculosis killed more than 50,000 people in 2021, making it the leading cause of death in South Africa. country.
Authorities said J&J agreed not to enforce his patent and to reduce the price charged to South Africa by approximately 40%.
“We hope this sends a strong message to pharmaceutical companies that they cannot continue their anti-competitive monopoly and prioritize profits over people’s lives,” said Candice Sehoma, advocacy consultant for Doctors Without Borders South Africa.
Sehoma told the Associated Press on Tuesday that he hopes generic manufacturers in South Africa can begin producing bedaquiline in the next few years, adding that Indian factories already make the drug.
Last year, activists in countries including India, Belarus and Ukraine protested J.&J to protect its patent on bedaquiline, but received little response. J.&J requested an extension of her patent in South Africa until 2027, infuriating activists who accused her of profiteering.
In an unusual move, challenging the influence of big pharmaceutical companies, the South African government then began investigating the company’s pricing policies. The country paid about 5,400 rand ($282) for treatment, far more than poor countries that obtained the drug through a global effort called the Stop TB Partnership.
Fatima Hassan, founder of the activist group Health Justice Initiative in South Africa, highlighted that patenting strategies for other essential medicines for diseases such as HIV, cancer and cystic fibrosis could also be investigated by regulatory agencies for their pricing policies.
“In the future, pharmaceutical companies need to be controlled and held accountable,” Hassan said in a statement.
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