The French charity Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontièrs (MSF) published an open letter to Johnson & Johnson (J&J) CEO William C. Weldon urging the company to license all relevant HIV/AIDS patents to the Medicines Patent Pool. In 2010, the Medicines Patent Pool was established by UNITAID, an agency with the mission of buying drugs to fight HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis. MSF asserts that UNITAID’s ability to manage HIV drug patents collectively will result in better pediatric formulations and fixed dosed combinations. MSF calls on J&J specifically to license rilpivirine, darunavir and etravirine. In January, J&J announced it was not ready to engage in formal negotiations and said that it is contacting generic manufacturers directly.

To read the MSF open letter, click here.