Othoman Mellouk believes “nobody should be denied access to health products for affordability reasons”.

Othoman is an expert in the field of access to medicines with a special focus on intellectual property and other regulatory barriers. After graduating from Paris VI Medical University as Orthodontist, Othoman joined the main HIV organization in Morocco in the late 90s, where he contributed to the introduction of the first ARVs in the country.

Othoman is the program lead of the intellectual property and access to medicines program at ITPC. He coordinates the “Make Medicines Affordable” campaign, covering 17 middle-income countries between Latin America, South East Asia, Eastern Europe and Central Asia and Morocco. The campaign aims to remove legal barriers in terms of intellectual property to facilitate market entry of quality generic drugs at an affordable price with the promotion of local production as a sustainable solution to ensure safety, affordability and health sovereignty.

Othoman is a member of several international committees including: the Strategic and Technical Advisory Committee to the WHO Director General on HIV, Viral Hepatitis and STIs (STAC), and more recently the WHO International Emergency Committee on monkeypox.

Othoman’s other interests include permaculture, worrying about his cat and defending his chickens for rogue foxes.

Based in Marrakesh, Morocco and Condeau, France.