Tuberculosis survivor, advocacy group oppose preventive therapy patent to French pharma
(WorldNews India)

A Mumbai-based tuberculosis survivor along with an advocacy group for HIV, Delhi Network of Positive People, has filed a pre-grant patent opposition with the Indian Patent office in Kolkata against a French pharmaceutical giant´s application for patents of drugs to prevent TB. The pharmaceutical, Sanofi, had applied for patent in 2016 on a combination of rifapentine and isoniazid formulation for adults, and on a child-friendly water-dispersible formulation of these drugs for young children. A standard TB preventive therapy involves isoniazid regimen for six months or more. Newer studies have shown a combination of isoniazid and rifapentine to be more effective – with lesser liver...