Article with great crossover of our upcoming events...

Take care,
 Celia

On 15 Nov 2002, Marcella Mousavi wrote:
> WTO Ministers Reach Agreement on Proposal to Increase Access to Medicines
=
> to Treat HIV/AIDS, Other Diseases in Developing Nations
> [Nov 15, 2002]=20
>       World Trade Organization ministers today agreed on a proposal =
> addressing how to allow developing nations to gain broader access to =
> medicines to treat HIV/AIDS and other diseases, the Sydney Morning Herald
=
> reports (Sydney Morning Herald, 11/15). Trade representatives from 25 WTO
=
> member nations are meeting in Sydney this week to discuss trade issues =
> regarding medicines, agricultural goods and other products (Brooks/Day, =
> Dow Jones International News, 11/14). The discussions are focusing on how
=
> to implement a declaration approved in November 2001 by a WTO ministerial
=
> working group that states that developing nations can override patent =
> protections to manufacture medicines during public health emergencies.
The =
> declaration says that the Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property
=
> Rights (TRIPS) agreement, which outlines international patent rules, "can
=
> and should be interpreted and implemented in a manner supportive of WTO =
> members' right to protect public health and, in particular, to promote =
> access to medicines for all." The text also states that each WTO member =
> has the right to issue compulsory licenses and the liberty to determine =
> when to issue the licenses (Kaiser Daily HIV/AIDS Report, 10/25).=20
> 
> The Specifics=20
> Thai Commerce Minister Adisai Bodharamik said that ministers have agreed
=
> to endorse provisions that will allow some developing nations to
manufactur=
> e generic versions of patented drugs for HIV/AIDS, malaria and
tuberculosis=
> . Developing nations producing the drugs would also be allowed to export
=
> the medicines to other poor countries on a "case-by-case basis," but =
> ministers have reiterated that safeguards will be in place to prevent the
=
> drugs from being diverted back to developed countries for sale at higher
=
> prices. Australian Trade Minister Mark Vaile said that ministers have =
> successfully addressed developed countries' concerns about "maintaining =
> the integrity of intellectual property and patents" on the drugs
(Sands/Dug=
> dale, Agence France-Presse, 11/15). Officials from non-governmental =
> organizations added that the agreement includes provisions outlining
which =
> countries will be allowed to manufacture the drugs. The proposal also =
> includes a section waiving "any formal trade legal action" against =
> developing nations that produce generic pharmaceuticals (Sydney Morning =
> Herald, 11/15). U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan on Wednesday urged WTO
=
> ministers to agree on a proposal regarding access to drugs by Dec. 31,
and =
> Vaile said he is "confident" that the deadline can be met (Agence =
> France-Presse, 11/15). =20
> 
> Medecins Sans Frontieres Criticizes Drug Maker Roche for Failing to
Adhere =
> to Pledge to Cut AIDS Drug Prices in Developing Nations
> [Nov 15, 2002]=20
>       The nongovernmental organization Medecins Sans Frontieres today =
> criticized Swiss drug maker Roche Holding for not "liv[ing] up to its =
> promise" to reduce the price of its antiretroviral drugs for developing =
> nations, the Wall Street Journal reports. The organization said that of =
> the five major drug makers that have announced plans to cut their prices
=
> of antiretroviral drugs in developing nations, Roche is the "lone
holdout" =
> in failing to follow through. Roche reported to MSF that its "best price"
=
> for the protease inhibitor Viracept was approximately $3,170 per patient
=
> per year for patients in the "least developed" countries. Drug maker
Merck =
> & Co. charges only $600 per patient per year in developing nations for
its =
> protease inhibitor Crixivan. MSF stated that while it was unable to
obtain =
> Viracept at the best price quoted by Roche, Merck has sold Crixivan at
the =
> discount it promised. In addition, the price of Viracept "var[ies]
widely" =
> among countries, according to Daniel Berman, an MSF spokesperson. Berman
=
> said that the price of an annual dose of the drug costs $4,124 in
Cameroon =
> and $7,110 in Ukraine, with the latter price surpassing the retail price
=
> of the drug in Switzerland.=20
> 
> Failing a Promise to Forgo Profits?=20
> In 2000, Roche joined four other pharmaceutical firms in pledging to =
> "slash" the prices of antiretroviral drugs in developing nations, and on
=
> April 18 the company promised "not to profit from its HIV therapeutic =
> portfolio" in poor countries. But Swiss AIDS researchers say that Roche =
> "appear[s] to be profiting" from its AIDS drugs marketed in developing =
> countries. A raw materials supplier for Agouron, which markets Viracept
in =
> North America, states that the materials for Viracept cost between $700 =
> and $900 per kilogram. Eloan Dos Santos Pinheiro, a former official with
a =
> generic drug maker in Brazil, said that at these prices, an annual dose
of =
> Viracept could be manufactured and "sold profitably" for approximately =
> $1,350 per patient per year. These data indicate that Roche could cut the
=
> price of Viracept and "still make a profit" on the drug, the Journal =
> reports (Zimmerman, Wall Street Journal, 11/15).=20
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
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