Initiative for Medicines, Access, and Knowledge
AbbreviationI-MAK
HeadquartersUnited States
Executive directors
Priti Krishtel and Tahir Amin
Websitewww.i-mak.org

The Initiative for Medicines, Access, and Knowledge, known as I-MAK, is a U.S.-based global 501(c)(3) organization that advocates in the public interest for affordable access to medicines,[1] and a medicines system that is more inclusive of patients and the public.[2]

I-MAK's work has been featured in national and international media outlets, including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Financial Times, Fox Business, Bloomberg, the Washington Post, Forbes, PBS, Salon, and STAT News.

Organization

I-MAK is a team of lawyers, scientists, and health policy and market dynamics experts who advocate for affordable medications,[3] and prioritize public good over private interests in the medicines system.[4]

I-MAK was founded in 2006 by lawyers Priti Krishtel, experienced in the global access to medicines movement, and Tahir Amin, experienced in intellectual property law.[3] I-MAK has been supported by individuals and organizations aiming to lower the cost of prescription drugs, increase access to medicines, and make systems more inclusive and equitable,[1][5][6] including the Ford Foundation, the Laura and John Arnold Foundation, Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders, the Commonwealth Fund, Open Society Foundation, Kaiser Permanente, Echoing Green, the Calamus Foundation DE, the Mont Fund, the Palayam Foundation, Ashoka Foundation, and the Economic Security Project.[7]

Past activities

In the initial days, I-MAK partnered with humanitarian and community-led organizations to launch legal challenges to hepatitis C and HIV drugs in several countries,[8] and successfully filed challenges against pharmaceutical patents that were determined to be unmerited.[9][10][11] During this time, I-MAK worked alongside Nobel Peace Prize recipient Médecins Sans, Frontières/Doctors Without Borders, and patient networks to file patent challenges on behalf of low-income patients to ensure they received access to lifesaving medicines.[7][12]

I-MAK's work has decreased the cost of drugs and increased access to medicines for millions of patients.[11][5] By 2019, I-MAK had worked on patent law[13] for 33 treatments for 16 diseases, including cancer,[14] HIV,[15] hepatitis C,[16] and diabetes.[3] I-MAK has served in advisory capacities to patient groups, the European Patent Office, UNITAID, the Clinton Foundation, Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders, Gavi the Vaccine Alliance, and the World Health Organization.[7][12]

Current activities

In 2022, I-MAK launched a publicly accessible database showing drug patent data information on the top selling drugs in the U.S. The database was used by the New York Times in a 2023 investigation into AbbVie's patenting strategies on Humira.[17]

As of October 2022, I-MAK provides research, education, and policy solutions about the medicines system – the system encompassing drug development to drug access – through a process that involves various affected stakeholders called Participatory Changemaking.[12]

In 2021, I-MAK called on the U.S administration and federal agencies to take action to promote competition and advance equity across government and update the patent system in the public's interest. Citing I-MAK's research and attention to the issue, in December 2021, the United States House Committee on Oversight and Reform released an investigation on drug pricing, finding that pharmaceutical companies engage in abusive patenting practices to extend their monopolies in the United States.[18]

In 2022, the New York Times Editorial Board cited I-MAK's publications supporting patent system reform and called on Congress and the United States Patent and Trademark Office Director Kathi Vidal to "modernize and fortify" the patent system.[12]

During the COVID-19 pandemic, I-MAK has been a vocal proponent for more equitable distribution of vaccines and treatments[19] and racial equity in vaccine rollout.[20][21] I-MAK joined global health advocates in calling for a waiver to the World Trade Organization's TRIPS agreement so that intellectual property did not inhibit manufacturing and access[22] to COVID-19 technologies, emphasizing the amount of public funding that contributed to vaccine and treatment development.[23][24]

References

  1. 1 2 Waltz, Emily (January 1, 2014). "Sequenom falls after judge invalidates Down's patent" (PDF). Nature Biotechnology. 32 (1): 5. doi:10.1038/nbt0114-5. ISSN 1546-1696. S2CID 28736102.
  2. ↑ Fri; Krishtel, July 23, 2021 01:37pm-Priti; Amin, Tahir (July 23, 2021). "10 Steps The Biden-Harris Administration Should Take To Bring Equity To Our Patent System". Techdirt. Retrieved July 29, 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  3. 1 2 3 Te, Nhu. "2019 Unsung Heroes". NonProfit PRO. Retrieved July 29, 2022.
  4. ↑ The Editorial Board (April 16, 2022). "Opinion | Save America's Patent System". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved July 29, 2022.
  5. 1 2 Quigley, Fran (November 17, 2017). "Patent Fighters: Taking on Big Pharma". Health and Human Rights.
  6. ↑ I-MAK. "Donate – I-MAK". www.i-mak.org. Retrieved July 15, 2022.
  7. 1 2 3 "China rejects Gilead hepatitis C drug patent -advocacy group". Reuters. June 19, 2015. Retrieved January 6, 2023.
  8. ↑ Gibney, Michael (January 15, 2015). "Gilead Denied Patent for Hepatitis C drug sofosbuvir in India". Fierce Pharma. Retrieved July 29, 2022.
  9. ↑ Graham, Camilla S. (July 21, 2020). "The Current Status of US and Global Access to Direct‐Acting Antiviral Regimens for Hepatitis C Virus Infection". Clinical Liver Disease. 16 (1): 16–19. doi:10.1002/cld.925. ISSN 2046-2484. PMC 7373775. PMID 32714518.
  10. ↑ Pierson, Brendan (June 19, 2015). "China rejects Gilead hepatitis C drug patent -advocacy group". Reuters. Retrieved January 9, 2022.
  11. 1 2 Sinha, Gunjan (June 23, 2021). "How patent extensions keep some drug costs high". Salon. Retrieved July 29, 2022.
  12. 1 2 3 4 The Editorial Board (April 16, 2022). "Opinion | Save America's Patent System". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved January 6, 2023.
  13. ↑ I-MAK. "Impact – I-MAK". www.i-mak.org. Retrieved July 21, 2022.
  14. ↑ Chandrasekharan, Subhashini; Amin, Tahir; Kim, Joyce; Furrer, Eliane; Matterson, Anna-Carin; Schwalbe, Nina; Nguyen, Aurélia (November 17, 2015). "Intellectual property rights and challenges for development of affordable human papillomavirus, rotavirus and pneumococcal vaccines: Patent landscaping and perspectives of developing country vaccine manufacturers". Vaccine. 33 (46): 6366–6370. doi:10.1016/j.vaccine.2015.08.063. ISSN 0264-410X. PMID 26368398.
  15. ↑ "Indian Government Rejects Abbott's Patent Application For Second-Line ARV". Kaiser Health News. January 4, 2011. Retrieved July 29, 2022.
  16. ↑ Grillon, Céline; Krishtel, Priti R; Mellouk, Othoman; Basenko, Anton; Freeman, James; Mendão, Luís; Andrieux-Meyer, Isabelle; Morin, Sébastien (April 2018). "Treatment advocate tactics to expand access to antiviral therapy for HIV and viral hepatitis C in low- to high-income settings: making sure no one is left behind". Journal of the International AIDS Society. 21 (Suppl Suppl 2): e25060. doi:10.1002/jia2.25060. PMC 5978639. PMID 29633580.
  17. ↑ Robbins, Rebecca (January 28, 2023). "How a Drug Company Made $114 Billion by Gaming the U.S. Patent System". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved April 24, 2023.
  18. ↑ "Priti Krishtel, a critic of medical patents, is a MacArthur Fellow". Global Indian Times. Archived from the original on January 6, 2023. Retrieved January 6, 2023.
  19. ↑ Thomas-Smith, Ayeisha. "Weekly Economics Podcast: Vaccine Nationalism". New Economics Foundation. Retrieved July 29, 2022.
  20. ↑ "Racial disparities create obstacles for Covid-19 vaccine rollout". NBC News. Retrieved July 29, 2022.
  21. ↑ Wise, Jacqui (July 3, 2020). "Remdesivir: US purchase of world stocks sparks new "hunger games," warn observers". BMJ. 370: m2661. doi:10.1136/bmj.m2661. ISSN 1756-1833. PMID 32620681. S2CID 220303420.
  22. ↑ Krishtel, Priti; Hassan, Fatima (October 22, 2021). "Share vaccine know-how". Science. 374 (6566): 379. Bibcode:2021Sci...374..379K. doi:10.1126/science.abm8724. ISSN 0036-8075. PMID 34672761. S2CID 239455290.
  23. ↑ "Covid Seen as Tipping Point to Lower Drug Prices, Patent Sharing". news.bloomberglaw.com. Retrieved July 29, 2022.
  24. ↑ "Business Daily – Big Pharma: Vaccine Heroes or Profiteers? – BBC Sounds". www.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved July 29, 2022.

Further reading

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