Combattere la Malaria per mezzo di partnership: il modello della combinazione terapeutica ASMQ

The link between patents and innovation in the public sector has not yet been proved and some prominent researchers argue that that link may not exist or even that patents may be counterproductive. Especially in the case of malaria, a neglected disease, the lack of patents might have been beneficial since it allowed the creation of Product Development Partnerships and PrivatePublic Partnerships. PDPs and PPPs have played a crucial role in the fight against malaria. They are an attempt to fill the gaps left by the public health sector as well as from the market, in the provision of cures and drugs to the people that cannot afford it. There are many challenges, like the risk of resistance, the distribution and of course the cost. The following paper aims, first, at analizing the different views about the link between patents and innovation in the pharmaceutical sector. Afterwards, an overview will be given of the development of the latest malaria drugs through PDPs and PPPs. Subsequently It will be discussed in depth the topic of the development and commercialization of the therapeutic combination Artesunate/mefloquine (ASMQ) from the product development partnership between the Drug for Neglected disease Initiative (DNDi) and the Brazilian government-owned pharmaceutical company to the South-South technology transfer between Farmanguinhos and the Indian firm Cipla.