ViiV HEALTHCARE STATEMENT ON COMPULSORY LICENCE FOR DOLUTEGRAVIR IN COLOMBIA

25^th April 2024

ViiV Healthcare is committed to enabling access to our medicines to benefit people living with HIV, regardless of income or where they live.

The Colombian Superintendency of Industry and Commerce (the Colombian Patent Office) has granted a compulsory licence to dolutegravir for governmental use.

We have been in dialogue with the Colombian government through the process to understand its situation in more detail, in particular the effects of the Venezuelan migrant crisis on the Colombian healthcare system, and to find a solution. Therefore, we are disappointed by this decision, despite our best efforts to put proposals forward that achieve the Government’s public health objectives as set out in the Declaration of Public Interest without recourse to a compulsory licence.

We do not consider that compulsory licences are an effective means to support sustainable access or increase access to innovative medicines and have a detrimental impact around confidence in trade. The use of compulsory licences weakens the intellectual property system relied on by the life sciences sector to conduct the innovative and costly research and development necessary to drive advances in HIV treatment and care. As well as discouraging innovation, compulsory licensing seeks to push the costs of developing new medicines onto other countries.

We have made submissions opposing the grant of the compulsory licence throughout the process, and we will continue to oppose going forward, using appropriate legal means in Colombia and the Andean Community, and those available under international treaties.

We remain open to engage with the Colombian government to find a solution and will continue to provide a consistent supply of dolutegravir in Colombia, as we have been doing since the medicine was introduced. Our supply will be in line with demand in Colombia, ensuring that people living with HIV have access to the medication they need.

As a company 100% dedicated to HIV, we remain committed to continue making our medicines more widely available and live our mission of leaving no person living with HIV behind.