Thailand’s Move To Break Drug Patents Wins Support

[george]

Thailand’s move to break drug patents wins support

BANGKOK: -- International rules have allowed the Thai government to act in the interest of public health and issue compulsory licenses without consulting the foreign patent owner, according to international health policy and humanitarian aid experts.

They praised the government for Monday’s decision to break the patents of two life-saving drugs, Abbott's Kaletra, an HIV/AIDS drug, and Bristol-Myers Squibb and Sanofi-Aventis' Plavix, an anti-clotting agent.

A group of international NGOs told a press conference Friday that Thailand’s move to issue compulsory licenses to generic manufacturers to produce lower-cost versions of the drugs would ensure broader access to the necessary medications.

Ellen Hoen, Director of Policy Advocacy and Research with Geneva-based Medecins Sans Frontieres, and James Love, director of the US Consumer Project on Technology, also criticised the World Health Organisation (WHO) for not supporting Thailand’s decision.

WHO director-general Margaret Chan cautioned Thailand over the move during her visit this week and urged the government to begin negotiations with drug firms to strike the right balance in accessing drugs both in terms of quality and quantity.

Welcoming the government’s move, Nimit Tien-udom, director of the Aids Access Foundation, said the licences for generic drugs could improve the government's leverage in negotiating with pharmaceutical companies.

“Before this, the companies would not budge. We would repeatedly ask them to lower the price, but they wouldn’t hear any of it. We also asked previous governments to invoke the compulsory licensing clause, but they were too afraid of the retribution,” Mr Nimit said.

The move has been criticised by drug firms and US trade groups as undermining intellectual property rights and unnerving foreign investment in Thailand.

Poor countries are allowed to buy cheap copies of desperately needed drugs under the Doha declaration adopted by the World Trade Organization in 2001. But the US is accused of trying to prevent countries, which have manufacturing capacity, such as Thailand and India, making and selling cheap generic versions so as to preserve the monopolies of the drug giants.

--TNA 2007-02-03

[ThaiGoon]

[naka]

But the US is accused of trying to prevent countries, which have manufacturing capacity, such as Thailand and India, making and selling cheap generic versions so as to preserve the monopolies of the drug giants.

Bejeepers ... And all they had to do was spend ten years and ten billion dollars to

get these patents.

And who else is going to come up with new drugs, India, Thailand, Don't think so.

Naka.

[pampal]

Good for thailand

The pharma companies make enough money as it is

[peppermint]

So if you're not rich enough to buy the drugs from the US, you should die? Wow naka, I hope I never meet you in person.

Wouldn't capitalism according to Adam Smith allow a free market, not a protected one? And your hypothetical ten billion dollars spent on R&D is eclipsed by the 20 billion spent on marketing - that is the ratio but you probably didn't know that. I won't even get into the tax breaks and corporate welfare state of big pharma in the US...

[nick2k]

pretty good question. but let me counter your question with this question..

if a western nation develops a drug that allows one to essentially live 50% longer, but they didn't want to give it or sell it to you, what would you do?

would you feel it is your "right" to steal it from the inventor?

you need to talk to the patent owners. stealing is not right. otherwise, "somebody" might feel justified in stealing YOUR secrets. we all know what will happen if the jasmine rice market changed for the worst.

[Maxwell Book]

It's definitely not a good precident. This action fits the Thai model of not playing by the rules. They are pirates of the first order, well maybe second to Vietnam!

However, health, and more importantly, life and death, make it necessary for drug companies to bend to save lives. There has got to be a middle ground. If there isn't a middle ground these companies are not going to waste their time and money developing important drugs.

[aqua4]

But the US is accused of trying to prevent countries, which have manufacturing capacity, such as Thailand and India, making and selling cheap generic versions so as to preserve the monopolies of the drug giants.

Bejeepers ... And all they had to do was spend ten years and ten billion dollars to

get these patents.

And who else is going to come up with new drugs, India, Thailand, Don't think so.

Naka.

Well said!

[Johpa]

It's definitely not a good precident. This action fits the Thai model of not playing by the rules. They are pirates of the first order, well maybe second to Vietnam!

However, health, and more importantly, life and death, make it necessary for drug companies to bend to save lives. There has got to be a middle ground. If there isn't a middle ground these companies are not going to waste their time and money developing important drugs.

Once again, Big Pharma does not waste time and money developing important new drugs, they are marketing firms. They do spend time and money encouraging the US government to spend public funds upon such research, which is a good thing, but then swoop in and purchase and privatize the rights to the drugs.

[roamer]

It's definitely not a good precident. This action fits the Thai model of not playing by the rules. They are pirates of the first order, well maybe second to Vietnam!

However, health, and more importantly, life and death, make it necessary for drug companies to bend to save lives. There has got to be a middle ground. If there isn't a middle ground these companies are not going to waste their time and money developing important drugs.

Once again, Big Pharma does not waste time and money developing important new drugs, they are marketing firms. They do spend time and money encouraging the US government to spend public funds upon such research, which is a good thing, but then swoop in and purchase and privatize the rights to the drugs.

Agreed. And the hardest patent to break is a drug patent. Because within those huge costs that are quoted of bringing a drug to market the facts that are hidden are how much the lawyers cost, the lawyers that ensure that others can not compete. And when that all encompassing patent is drawn up the net result is to prevent any genuine research around that compound that might result in a vastly improved treatment.

By the way, we are not talking about the same benevolent group of people who marketed Seroxat for kids despite their own (concealed) research showing it caused suicides in that age group, are we?

My heart bleeds for them.

[Johpa]

It's definitely not a good precident. This action fits the Thai model of not playing by the rules. They are pirates of the first order, well maybe second to Vietnam!

However, health, and more importantly, life and death, make it necessary for drug companies to bend to save lives. There has got to be a middle ground. If there isn't a middle ground these companies are not going to waste their time and money developing important drugs.

Once again, Big Pharma does not waste time and money developing important new drugs, they are marketing firms. They do spend time and money encouraging the US government to spend public funds upon such research, which is a good thing, but then swoop in and purchase and privatize the rights to the drugs.

I should note that Big Pharma does do some drug development, they do me-too drugs such as cholesterol lowering and erectile dysfunction drugs, and they also do research into how to make minor changes in existing drugs that may soon be going off patent protection, thus insuring proprietary replacements. Note that the newer, slightly reformulated version of a drug need not work better than the older version, only that it be an effective treatment.

[naka]

So if you're not rich enough to buy the drugs from the US, you should die? Wow naka, I hope I never meet you in person.

Wouldn't capitalism according to Adam Smith allow a free market, not a protected one? And your hypothetical ten billion dollars spent on R&D is eclipsed by the 20 billion spent on marketing - that is the ratio but you probably didn't know that. I won't even get into the tax breaks and corporate welfare state of big pharma in the US...

You also chose not to answer my original question.

Who is going to spend money to develop drugs, if there is no profit in it ?

Naka.

[Dakhar]

Umm we did crack the Jasmine Rice

http://www.agcomintl.com/jasmin.htm

But because it was initially develloped by some po dunk whole in the ground country... it was ok.

[nick2k]

Umm we did crack the Jasmine Rice

http://www.agcomintl.com/jasmin.htm

But because it was initially develloped by some po dunk whole in the ground country... it was ok.

..interesting read. I bet we could sell all we want if we just marketed the rice properly. ..do what china is doing to us in the america. namely lower prices so low that america can't compete.

we would have a surplus in no time if we just think like the chinese. bring on the tariffs!!!

[jdinasia]

But the US is accused of trying to prevent countries, which have manufacturing capacity, such as Thailand and India, making and selling cheap generic versions so as to preserve the monopolies of the drug giants.

Bejeepers ... And all they had to do was spend ten years and ten billion dollars to

get these patents.

And who else is going to come up with new drugs, India, Thailand, Don't think so.

Naka.

The drug companies' money? for R&D? LOL .... nope

[TAWP]

Since patents and software patents all restrict a free market I fully support the goverments ation to produce low-cost local versions of the expensive drugs.

[nick2k]

Since patents and software patents all restrict a free market I fully support the goverments ation to produce low-cost local versions of the expensive drugs.

I love it. keep it coming. the sooner the drug companies know their patents are spit upon by foreign countries, the better. before you know it, the supply line for future drugs will be cut.

..you mentioned software patents too. wow! you really like helping me out. thank you. before you know it, my wish will come true.

all american companies should go back to america for americans.

your my kind of guy, tawp. keep it coming. I rather have an enemy who is honest than is sneaky.

[jdinasia]

Since patents and software patents all restrict a free market I fully support the goverments ation to produce low-cost local versions of the expensive drugs.

I love it. keep it coming. the sooner the drug companies know their patents are spit upon by foreign countries, the better. before you know it, the supply line for future drugs will be cut.

..you mentioned software patents too. wow! you really like helping me out. thank you. before you know it, my wish will come true.

all american companies should go back to america for americans.

your my kind of guy, tawp. keep it coming. I rather have an enemy who is honest than is sneaky.

since by far and large the drug companies are not paying the bill for the R&D ... it is really a non-issue (also since the drug companies are not liable here for damages etc their expense here is minimal anyways ... they are just playing to the stockholder and forgetting the human element in illness. Yes they need to be profitable ... but no they don't need to gouge on life saving medication that public funds went into creating!

[TAWP]

Since patents and software patents all restrict a free market I fully support the goverments ation to produce low-cost local versions of the expensive drugs.

I love it. keep it coming. the sooner the drug companies know their patents are spit upon by foreign countries, the better. before you know it, the supply line for future drugs will be cut.

..you mentioned software patents too. wow! you really like helping me out. thank you. before you know it, my wish will come true.

all american companies should go back to america for americans.

your my kind of guy, tawp. keep it coming. I rather have an enemy who is honest than is sneaky.

I find it more ironic to have an American posting here being anti-free market and expression views that somehow conflict with everything America is supposedly standing for. Well, atleast in the foreign-policy rethoric that is...

Btw, please let us know when you can give any example where Software patents has ever done anything good. It's such a bizzare concept that sofar The US is the only major country that has a patent agency that seems to accept applications for it. God willing the idea will be shot down again when it comes up next time in the EU. The concept to patent an idea is absurd.

Edited February 4, 2007 by TAWP

[Ijustwannateach]

No one has ever "cured" a virus before; it would be the equivalent of curing the common cold. Such a huge research project should be managed by entities bigger than any single company; an international partnership between governments and corporations is probably required, with some research subsidies and other concessions granted the participating companies. In the end, as pretty much the whole world will need to be vaccinated, profits can come from the sheer scale of the thing.

[zhudi]

But the US is accused of trying to prevent countries, which have manufacturing capacity, such as Thailand and India, making and selling cheap generic versions so as to preserve the monopolies of the drug giants.

Bejeepers ... And all they had to do was spend ten years and ten billion dollars to

get these patents.

And who else is going to come up with new drugs, India, Thailand, Don't think so.

Naka.

The drug companies' money? for R&D? LOL .... nope

we all know theres enough money welth and resourses for everyone in the world but its controlled by a few and thats why people starve and go without medications. You should feel the same way and think there is nothing wrong with this or Phanthip Or are you brain washed?

[zhudi]

Since patents and software patents all restrict a free market I fully support the goverments ation to produce low-cost local versions of the expensive drugs.

well said it is wrong for the power base to stay within the largest drug companies...its important to preserve life at affordable prices