UNITAID welcomes the creation of ViiV Healthcare, a joint venture established by pharmaceutical companies GlaxoSmithKline and Pfizer aiming to improve access to HIV treatment. "In particular," said Dr Jorge Bermudez, UNITAID's Executive Secretary, "we applaud the new venture's goal of being collaborative. In that regard, we invite ViiV to enter into discussions with us on ways in which they might contribute to the development of our patent pool."

UNITAID is creating a patent pool to spur the generic production of inexpensive AIDS medicines. The pool aims to ensure in particular that combined therapies for children and medicines adapted to the needs of patients in developing countries are made available at an affordable price to all who need them. "A new pharmaceutical company working specifically on AIDS treatment could be a crucial partner for us," added Jorge Bermudez. "We will be contacting the CEO of ViiV, Dr Dominique Limet, in the next week, to discuss potential areas of collaboration based on public health needs."