Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2007. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
Bangkok Post - March 20, 2007
They said the action by the drug firm, which produces the anti-Aids drug, Kaletra, in response to the government's decision to go ahead with compulsory licensing, was immoral.
Also withdrawn are new antibiotics and other medicines for the treatment of kidney disorders, high blood pressure and constricted blood vessels.
"Abbott is acting like it is taking patients hostage in a bid to pressure the government to abandon compulsory licensing," Saree Ongsomwang, of the Foundation for Consumers, said in a statement released yesterday.
The Public Health Ministry has approved compulsory licensing that allows for the importation or production of generic versions of patented drugs so low-income patients can afford them.
Abbott's Kaletra, an advanced anti-Aids drug, is one of three medications coming under compulsory licensing. The others are the anti-Aids drug Efavirenz, and Plavix, for patients with heart disease, produced by other companies.
The activists rebuked the company for placing profit before business ethics.
"We've already asked health establishments nationwide to join the boycott," said Rural Doctors Society president Kriangsak Watcharanukulkiat.
The groups have cooperated with international heath promotion organisations such as Medicins Sans Frontieres (Doctors without Borders), to ask people in other countries to take part in the boycott.
They also threatened to expand their boycott to other types of products made by companies affiliated to Abbot, should the company still insist on withdrawing its new drugs from Thailand.
Abbot is a major producer of a wide range of products, including medicines and nutrient and milk products.
"The company's action clearly shows it is being unscrupulous," said Rosana Tositrakul, coordinator of the Anti-Corruption Network of 30 Non-Governmental Organisations.
The Public Health Ministry has applied the compulsory licensing under the Thai Patent Act that allows the country to import or produce generic and cheaper versions of patented drugs. The World Trade Organisation also allows its member nations to declare a "national emergency" as a reason to use compulsory licensing.
"It took us seven years to convince the government to approve them," said Aids Access Foundation's local director Nimit Tienudom, defending the merits of the compulsory licences.
Unlike previous governments which dared not infuriate giant drug companies, the Surayud Chulanont government had taken a courageous move to protect the rights of patients, Mr Nimit said.
"All people will fight on by your side," said Mr Nimit, in reference to Public Heath Minister Mongkol na Songkhla.
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