Essential Inventions, Inc. (EII) is a non-profit corporation organized under the laws of the District of Columbia in January 2004 to promote the creation and distribution of essential inventions and other works that support public health, nutrition, learning, and access to information and cultural life. Federal Procurement of Patented Drugs under Statutory Licenses On January 5, 2007, Essential Inventions sent a letter to Robert Portman, Director of the The Office of Management and Budget, requesting his Office take steps to develop and accept alternative competitive sources of supply for federal procurement of two medicines - Stavudine, or d4T and Ritonavir- the patents for which the government has statutory licenses. This action can save the federal government (and taxpayers) hundreds of millions of dollars as well as make it possible to expand other services to persons living with HIV. March-in Request to US Government In January 2004, EII asked the Department of Health and Human Services to issue compulsory licenses under the Bayh-Dole "March-In" procedures to patents on two US government-funded pharmaceutical inventions: Norvir/ritonavir and Xalatan/latanoprost) that are currently only available in the US at prices far higher than prices charged in other high income countries. Compulsory License for Gleevec In December 2004, EII has asked the Canadian government to issue a non-exclusive "open" compulsory licenses authorizing any qualified entity to manufacture and distribute Glivec/Imatinib Mesylate (a life saving medication for Chronic Myeloid Leukemia) to any country that qualifies under the provisions of Canadian Bill C-9. EII has also asked the government of Chile to approve compulsory licenses that authorize the import and sale of generic copies of Imatinib Mesylate. Further information can be found here. Compulsory License for AIDS Medicines On January 8, 2005, Essential Inventions wrote to His Excellency Mr. Urbain Olanguena Awono, the Minister of Public Health for the Republic of Cameroon, asking the Cameroon government to approve non-voluntary licenses for any and all patents that are relevant in Cameroon for the importation, manufacture or sale of generic versions of the following medicines used in the treatment of HIV/AIDS: Nevirapine (Brand name Viramune®) Lamivudine (Brand name 3TC®) Fixed dose combinations of Lamivudine and Zidovudine (Brand name Combivir®) Only eleven per cent of patients needing AIDS drugs currently receive them in Cameroon. Further information can be found here. Patent Pool for AIDS During January 2005 Essential inventions presented a proposal for an Essential Patent Pool for AIDS (EPPA) medicines to WHO, UNAIDS, Global Fund and Commission on Africa. The EPPA would dramatically reduce the cost of AIDS medicines for developing countries, expand access to all AIDS medicines, assist in the scale up for needed medicine volumes and promote innovation tailored to the health care needs of the HIV/AIDS patients in developing countries. 95% of the 40 million infected people reside in developing countries and only a small fraction has access to life saving AIDS drugs. General information on existing patent pools can be found here. Further information about Essential Inventions, can be found here.