Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2001. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2001. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
Reuters NewMedia - Tuesday October 30, 2001
Shasta Darlington
"They are doing exactly what we did. It is inconsistent to then oppose making that an option on a global level," he said. Last week, the United States struck a deal with Bayer AG to buy discounted Cipro rather than issue licenses for generic copies.
Brazil has won repeated discounts on HIV/AIDS drugs from international drug makers after threatening to issue licenses to make generic copies at home. But Latin America's biggest country had to fight strong US opposition in the process.
The United States eventually withdrew a complaint that it had filed with the World Trade Organization against Brazil's patent laws, but now the two countries are feuding again over the next WTO meeting in Qatar next month.
Developing countries, headed by Brazil and India, are fighting for a ministerial declaration at the talks that would clarify that nothing in the Trade-Related Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPs) accord "would prevent countries from meeting the public health needs of their populations," Teixeira said.
The United States, Canada, Japan and Switzerland lobbied to keep the discussion off the agenda, but Brazil is hoping public pressure will still turn around the decision.
"We have more than 50 mostly developing countries behind us plus NGOs (nongovernmental organizations), and it appears France is supporting us," said Teixeira.
"We have very few days left to make changes to the agenda, but we're holding out that public opinion will convince the United States," he said.
The United States has argued that TRIPs is already flexible and that countries can override patents in health emergencies. US officials have also said that countries like Brazil are actually pushing to make generic copies to sell to other countries where patents were pending.
"That is absurd. They know full well that we produce the generics for domestic use," Teixeira said.
Brazil gives out HIV/AIDS drugs free of charge as part of its widely hailed anti-AIDS program. The country has slashed the number of HIV/AIDS-related deaths in half since 1997, when distribution of free drugs was fully implemented.
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