Merck Strikes Voluntary Licensing Deals in Poor Countries for an Experimental HIV Prevention Pill

Professor Emeritus Brook Baker weighs in on Merck’s new voluntary licensing deals for an experimental HIV prevention pill, which will allow seven generic manufacturers to sell the medicine across 129 low- and middle-income countries. Baker, who studies access to medicines and also serves as senior policy analyst for Health GAP, called the deals a step forward but said they fall short given the number of countries excluded from coverage. “It’s welcome news, but I think this is almost good enough — not good enough,“ Baker said.