Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 1999. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
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The San Francisco Examiner - November 4, 1999
Judy Holland, Examiner Washington Bureau
The measure's passage on Wednesday was a major defeat for the American pharmaceutical industry, which had pressed Congress to stop foreign countries from producing generic versions of their drugs.
But AIDS groups applauded the action, saying the price of AIDS drugs is critical because the vast majority of the world's HIV and AIDS cases are in developing countries, where people can't afford expensive drug cocktails.
"In the case of drugs that can give men, women and children a new lease on life, we should not be bickering over obscure trade policy," said Daniel Zingale, executive director for AIDS Actions, a Washington advocacy group. Generic drugs tend to be significantly cheaper than brand name AIDS drugs, which can cost $12,000 to $15,000 a year.
The conflict pitting intellectual property rights against access to AIDS medication began in 1997. That year, South Africa passed legislation allowing it to circumvent Western pharmaceutical firms by granting small local companies permission to produce their own AIDS drugs or to import them from countries such as India that make cheaper generic versions.
Trade officials and lobbyists for U.S. drug companies have fought back, pressing Congress to protect intellectual property rights.
The AIDS drug issue was included in the Africa trade bill, which easily passed the Senate on Wednesday. The bill initially authorized sanctions on countries producing cheaper drugs. But Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., persuaded GOP leaders to accept an amendment allowing African countries to continue producing their copycat AIDS drugs.
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