AEGiS-WSJ: South Africa, Drug Firms Near Accord To Settle Court Case Over AIDS Drugs

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa -- Last-minute settlement talks here late Tuesday could end the court case brought by the international drug industry against South Africa, according to drug-industry and government officials. The trial, watched closely by AIDS activists world-wide, was scheduled to resume Wednesday in Pretoria.

The suit had challenged a law making it easier for South Africa to import or make less-expensive generic versions of the industry's brand-name medicines, including drugs to treat AIDS.

The 39 drug makers that are the plaintiffs will now probably drop the suit. They hope to extricate themselves from a public-relations nightmare in which they have been vilified in recent months by AIDS activists. However, the government of South Africa will now likely come under intense activist pressure to begin buying and distributing AIDS medicine.

¹Abbott to Cut Prices on AIDS Drugs Distributed in Sub-Saharan Africa (March 27)

²Bristol-Myers Squibb Offers to Sell AIDS Drugs in Africa at Below Cost (March 15)

³Cipla Sidesteps South African Fight With a Bid to Offer Generic Drugs (March 9)

⁴AIDS Fighters Win Skirmish in South African Legal Fight (March7)

Under the tentative agreement, the South African law will stand, but the government will agree that it will only buy or make generic drugs of patented medicines in compliance with rules set out by the World Trade Organization, industry executives said. The industry had argued that the law gave South Africa wide discretionary power to violate patents.

The talks intensified after top executives at Bristol-Myers Squibb Co., GlaxoSmithKline PLC and other AIDS drug makers met with United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan in Amsterdam two weeks ago, said officials close to the talks. Afterward, Mr. Annan took an active role in brokering the agreement.

The South African government couldn't be reached for a comment. But its top health officials have said that even if the case is settled, the country's limited resources make it difficult to begin buying even inexpensive drugs without a long-term sustainable plan in place.

Tuesday, prior to the settlement, Mirryena Deeb, the head of the Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association of South Africa, a trade group spearheading the lawsuit, said: "We aren't looking for a great victory. We are looking for something that can move us forward and benefit the people of South Africa. We never closed the door on negotiation."

At the start of the court proceedings last month, demonstrations across the world protested what was decried as the drug industry's desire to put profits before poor people's lives. "The case is simply morally and ethically indefensible," Kevin Watkins, of the British group Oxfam, told a news conference Tuesday. Ms. Deeb said her members were being unfairly demonized. "The way things are now presented, the drug industry is the sole factor that stands in the way of access to treatment for HIV-AIDS," she said. But, she said, "my own feeling is that the government is subsumed by fear of not knowing where to start to tackle this problem."

While the drug companies were increasingly uncomfortable with continuing the lawsuit, the government of President Thabo Mbeki hasn't always appeared committed to using AIDS drugs to fight the disease, even at cheaper prices. The U.N. now estimates that there are 4.7 million South Africans infected with the virus that causes AIDS. Yet South Africa has been slow to accept offers of free drugs and test kits that could boost its efforts to deal with the disease.

Drug Reactions

Companies that have taken recent action to cut the price of AIDS drugs in Africa:

Roche Holding Offered a 50% rebate off Fortovase and 15% off Viracept under certain conditions

Part of the problem, some health ministry officials say, is Mr. Mbeki's personal uncertainty that HIV causes AIDS, hindering the government from embracing drug therapy.

Health ministry officials deny that the government is opposed to using drugs. "But while we are not opposed to them, it doesn't mean they are our highest priority," said Jo-Ann Collinge, a ministry spokeswoman.

At a recent AIDS conference here, Nono Simelela, who runs the health ministry's AIDS program, was condemned by Zackie Achmat, an activist, for not accepting a five-year free supply of Nevirapine, a Boehringer Ingelheim Gmbh drug that can reduce the rate of mother-to-child transmission of the AIDS virus. The government has said the drug may be too toxic. Dr. Simelela said it was unfair to blame her for decisions made by politicians, and then broke down and wept.

-- Gardiner Harris and Rachel Zimmerman in New York contributed to this article.

ÆGiS is made possible through unrestricted grants from Boehringer Ingelheim, iMetrikus, Inc., the National Library of Medicine, and donations from users like you. Always watch for outdated information. This article first appeared in 2001. This material is designed to support, not replace, the relationship that exists between you and your doctor.

ÆGiS 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 ©1990, 2000. ÆGiS & the Sisters of Saint Elizabeth of Hungary. All materials appearing on ÆGiS are protected by copyright as a collective work or compilation under U.S. copyright and other laws and are the property of ÆGIS and the Sisters of Saint. Elizabeth of Hungary, or the party credited as the provider of the content.