[Advocating for equitable access to new health technologies: The case of Kymriah®]

Patents have been thought of as an incentive model for research, conferring temporary monopolies to take advantage of an invention. In the pharmaceutical market, unmerited patents are granted, allowing firms to benefit from illegitimate monopolies and demand high prices. These abuses are at the expense of access to care and the financial sustainability of health care systems.These abuses have been demonstrated on treatments for HIV and hepatitis, and are also practiced on anti-cancer treatments such as CAR-T therapies (Chimeric Antigen Receptor T-Cell), whose particularly high prices are a challenge for health systems.Purpose of research: Médecins du Monde and Public Eye, two NGOs advocating on price and access to treatment, wanted to question the patentability of CAR-T treatments as well as to strengthen the capacity of health systems to negotiate fairer prices. These organizations filed a patent opposition against one of these treatments, Kymriah® (tisagenlecleucel).

Through this initiative, these organizations alerted public opinion and policy makers on the high prices of CAR-T treatments. The opposition forced Novartis and the University of Pennsylvania to request the revocation of the patent. This action suggests that the patent was granted when it failed to meet the patentability criteria.

The treatment is still covered by other patents, this opposition does not end the monopoly. Nevertheless, it weakens the intellectual property on this drug and strengthens the States during price negotiations.