Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2007. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
Bangkok Post - May 7, 2007
Pradit Ruangdit
The Democrat party also rebuked Washington for heaping pressure on the government over the issue.
CPD secretary-general Suriyasai Katasila commended the government for its courage in embracing the public interest.
"It should be an example for the next democratically-elected government to follow," he said.
Mr Suriyasai recommended the government broaden licensing, which currently covers two drugs for treatment of HIV/Aids and one for heart patients, to medicines for other serious illnesses.
Increasing the availability of cheap drugs was an act of "declaring independence" in the realm of medicine, he said.
Issuing compulsory licences was also an act of public health reform, which needed a long-term government commitment for the momentum to be maintained.
"The confederation is asking the US government to stop taking advantage of less developed nations and practising trade policies which cause injustice for them," he said.
Mr Suriyasai sees a dispute brewing between the Public Health Ministry and Commerce Ministry, which may "cave in" to any threat from the US to cut the Generalised System of Preferences (GSP), a trade measure, in retaliation for compulsory licensing.
The government's decision to issue compulsory licences for generic versions of the Aids drugs Efavirenz and Kaletra and the heart drug Plavix prompted the Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR) to downgrade Thailand to a country deemed to have poor intellectual property protection.
A delegation from the Public Health Ministry yesterday left for the US to clinch a deal with the Clinton Foundation to buy drugs in bulk at modest prices.
The team is being headed by Public Health Minister Mongkol na Songkhla and Vichai Chokewiwat, who leads the panel in charge of compulsory licensing. They will return in four days, before leaving for the US again on May 21 to explain to Washington the reasons for the government's stance.
Dr Vichai said yesterday that the trip would show the world that Thailand was willing to pursue other options besides licensing.
The country's pharmaceutical development had been hampered by the requirement the government wait until drug patents expire before it can produce generic versions. In addition, a clause in the law giving the government control over prices of patented drugs was deleted many years ago.
Dr Vichai brushed aside recent criticism by USA for Innovation, an NGO, of the government's stand on compulsory licensing.
The Washington Times recently published an article critical of the coup, the government's economic policies and its use of compulsory licensing. The article was written by Ken Adelman, who is a senior counsellor of a public relations company which has ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra among its clients. He is also an executive director of USA for Innovation.
Dr Vichai rejected Innovation's suggestion the government decided on licensing to save on public health spending so that it could increase defence expenditure.
The Democrats warn the US may have a hidden agenda in placing Thailand on priority watch. The government should begin talks with the US to find a way out of the crisis.
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