Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2004. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
Bangkok Post - July 23, 2004
The conference enabled antagonists to spell out their arguments. Drug companies reiterated the need for patents to fund their investments in research and development. One executive put the onus on public institutions as well as the private sector to help poor countries through financial and technical assistance. The strongest argument from the critics may have been that new discoveries are of little use to companies if the sufferers, their market, cannot afford them.
Governments were encouraged to override patents through compulsory licensing, as provided for under the World Trade Organisation's agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights, or Trips. Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra promised to explore the possibility of using this window a week after he had vowed to resist any bid for excessive protection of patents in negotiations started last month on a free trade pact with the United States.
Though the promises so far have found more sceptics than believers, civil society should see to it that the prime minister honours his word. An estimated one million Thai nationals are living with HIV/Aids, and of the estimated 100,000 classified as patients, only about 5% receive anti-retroviral drugs.
In November 2001, the WTO ministerial conference in Doha reaffirmed the need to apply the Trips agreement in a manner supportive of members' right to protect public health and promote access to medicines for all. The Doha Declaration on the Trips Agreement and Public Health said each member enjoyed "the right to grant compulsory licences and the freedom to determine the grounds upon which such licences are granted". The declaration pointed to a final hurdle: the effective use of compulsory licensing by countries unable to produce their own drugs. A meeting on Aug 30 last year removed this obstacle by agreeing to a case-by-case system for waiving the export limitation in Trips so that countries producing generic copies of patented products under compulsory licences can export them to "eligible importing countries".
A subsequent UNAids report noted that no country had so far used the waiver system, although Malaysia and Mozambique had announced they were issuing compulsory licences for some HIV anti-retrovirals. In Thailand, the Government Pharmaceutical Organisation has forwarded to cabinet a proposal to use compulsory licensing for two drugs needed in the second regimen of anti-retroviral therapy: Kaletra and Efavirenz. If the proposal is approved, generic versions of these drugs would reduce patients' costs by as much as 80%.
The patent law and trade concerns seem to be causing the government to procrastinate. Amendment of the patent law would appear the easier obstacle to clear. Things are more difficult with the trade concerns as the United States is a major trade partner and last year pronounced Thailand a major non-Nato ally.
FTA Watch, which has suggested that the US might demand a protection period of 25 years - five more years than under Trips - for drug patents, is expected to continue its crusade against any sale of sovereignty to the US. The NGO will have been emboldened by the UNAids observation that trade agreements between the US and Colombia and the US and Chile, as well as the Central American Free Trade Agreement, were "overly" protective of patents.
040723
BP040766
Copyright © 2004 - The Bangkok Post. Reproduction of this article (other than one copy for personal reference) must be cleared through the Bangkok Post.
AEGiS is a 501(c)3, not-for-profit, tax-exempt, educational corporation. AEGiS is made possible through unrestricted funding from Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS, Elton John AIDS Foundation, the National Library of Medicine, Pacific Life Foundation and donations from users like you.
Always watch for outdated information. This article first appeared in 2004. This material is designed to support, not replace, the relationship that exists between you and your doctor.
AEGiS presents published material, reprinted with permission and neither endorses nor opposes any material. All information contained on this website, including information relating to health conditions, products, and treatments, is for informational purposes only. It is often presented in summary or aggregate form. It is not meant to be a substitute for the advice provided by your own physician or other medical professionals. Always discuss treatment options with a doctor who specializes in treating HIV.
Copyright ©1980, 2004. AEGiS. All materials appearing on AEGiS are protected by copyright as a collective work or compilation under U.S. copyright and other laws and are the property of AEGiS, or the party credited as the provider of the content. .