IP department’s inefficiency puts lives at risk, HIV activists fume

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IP department’s inefficiency puts lives at risk, HIV activists fume

By CHULARAT SAENGPASSA 
THE NATION 

 

 

HIV/AIDS activists have attacked the Intellectual Property Department (IPD) for perceived inefficiency, which they blame for hurting patients’ access to useful medicines.
 

“The IPD has adversely affected the lives of people in Thailand by not throwing out patent applications that should have long been rejected,” Nimit Tien-udom, director of the Aids Access Foundation, said yesterday. 

 

He spoke as he and representatives of the Thai Network of People Living with HIV/Aids (TNP+) turned up at the department to demand that it remove four patent applications for medicines from its system because they had long been disputed.

 

“Because the IPD has not removed these applications from its system, the Government Pharmaceutical Organisation (GPO) does not dare make these medicines. 

 

“When Thailand does not make these medicines under compulsory licensing, patients have difficulty accessing them. These medicines remain expensive,” Nimit said.

 

He said his group had objected to four patent applications within the 90-day period after the applications were first advertised. One of them was for Raltegravir, and the other three for Sofosbuvir. 

 

By law, the IPD must advertise a patent application after receiving it. If anyone disagrees with the issuance of a patent related to the application, they must do so within 90 days of the advertising. Still, items in patent applications continue to receive legal protection until the IPD rejects them. 

 

“By not throwing out their applications, it’s as if the IPD has granted them a patent because they enjoy legal protection. Who suffers then?” Nimit asked. “The answer is patients and the National Health Security Office”, which offers most types of medical services to about 48 million Thais for free. 

 

Raltegravir is used in a combination with other medications as an anti-retroviral to treat HIV/Aids.

 

Sofosbuvir is a direct acting antiviral medication used as part of combination therapy to treat chronic Hepatitis C – an infectious liver disease caused by infection with Hepatitis C Virus (HCV).

 

“The risk of people living with HIV contracting HCV is 10 times more than for others,” Nimit said. 

 

He complained that the IPD was inefficient in handling medicine-related patent applications. 

 

According to him, the IPD has acknowledged the disputes against four patent applications in 2016 and 2017. 

 

“But to date, medicines at the centre of the applications continue to receive protection,” Nimit said. 

 

He said the IPD needed to provide clear answers, because patients had already suffered for too long. “Medicines in these patent applications are nothing new. They do not deserve protection under intellectual-property law,” he said. 

 

He also criticised the IPD for always giving confusing information, when they are asked if patent applications related to medicines for people living with HIV had been filed.

 

“Sometimes, we have had to ask for information from drug manufacturers,” he said. Nimit spoke up just a few days before World Aids Day, which has been observed worldwide since 1988 to raise public awareness on HIV. 

 

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/national/30359468

 

-- © Copyright The Nation 2018-11-29

[Borzandy]

Everyone not healthy is at risk in Thailand.

[wvavin]

Is there anymore things that are competent in this country except corruption?

[Krataiboy]

There needs to be less emphasis on treating HIV-AIDS and a lot more on prevention.

 

Drugs used to treat HIV-AIDS - funded by the taxpayer - often have to be taken for a lifetime and are expensive. Condoms are cheap and extremely efficient, as was demonstrated in the early days of the epidemic when widespread "Meechai" used slashed infection rates dramatically.

 

Now the failure to to increase condom use among vulnerable groups means Thailand is back to having one of the worst HIV-AIDS records in Asia with around 460 people currently living with condition and 6,400 new cases in 2016, according to the latest report from HIV/AIDS agency Avert.  

 

Men who have sex with other men are responsible for an astonishing 90% of all new HIV infections in the Kingdom, and Avert who go on to warn: "Thai prevention programmes haven’t reached enough young men who have sex with men."

 

When will Thailand get the message?

[Sheryl]

2 minutes ago, Krataiboy said:

There needs to be less emphasis on treating HIV-AIDS and a lot more on prevention.

 

Drugs used to treat HIV-AIDS - funded by the taxpayer - often have to be taken for a lifetime and are expensive. Condoms are cheap and extremely efficient, as was demonstrated in the early days of the epidemic when widespread "Meechai" used slashed infection rates dramatically.

 

Now the failure to to increase condom use among vulnerable groups means Thailand is back to having one of the worst HIV-AIDS records in Asia with around 460 people currently living with condition and 6,400 new cases in 2016, according to the latest report from HIV/AIDS agency Avert.  

 

Men who have sex with other men are responsible for an astonishing 90% of all new HIV infections in the Kingdom, and Avert who go on to warn: "Thai prevention programmes haven’t reached enough young men who have sex with men."

 

When will Thailand get the message?

Actually,  HIV treatment serves a substantial preventive function as viral suppression renders people non-infectious. Once the viral load is undetectable - usually within 3-6 months of starting treatment - it is impossible for this person to transmit the virus to others, neither by sex, shared needles nor in utero (in the case of pregnant women).

 

Countries which have succeeded in eradicating HIV as a significant  public helaht concern have all, done so with a combination of both primary prevention AND universal access to treatment for those infected. no place has done this through "safe sex" messages alone.

[hotchilli]

1 hour ago, wvavin said:

Is there anymore things that are competent in this country except corruption?

No.... corruption is carried out daily with utmost professionalism..

[zaphod reborn]

The IPD only understands T-shirt designs.  Technology, including medicine and software, is way beyond their abilities.  Just look at how many problems they are having with medicinal cannabis patents.

Edited November 29, 2018 by zaphod reborn

[Smithson]

54 minutes ago, Krataiboy said:

Now the failure to to increase condom use among vulnerable groups means Thailand is back to having one of the worst HIV-AIDS records in Asia with around 460 people currently living with condition and 6,400 new cases in 2016, according to the latest report from HIV/AIDS agency Avert.  

 

Men who have sex with other men are responsible for an astonishing 90% of all new HIV infections in the Kingdom, and Avert who go on to warn: "Thai prevention programmes haven’t reached enough young men who have sex with men."

I'm glad somebody pointed this out. Living in CM in the mid 90s I saw many deaths. Later I worked for 12 months with an NGO doing HIV prevention work. HIV is on the rise again in many countries, but gets little media attention. Conspiracy theorist may say this is due to the money for big pharma.

 

Conservatism has increased, making talking about sex difficult. In many countries police search ppl for condoms as evidence they're doing sex work or to prevent promiscuity among the young. There have been reports of this in Thailand years ago. Groups pushing to abolish sex work world wide ignore this. They have become extremely powerful and ignore the voices of some of the world's most marginalized and at risk.

 

Male sex workers are particularly vulnerable, as radical feminists virtually deny their existence to suit their ideology. UNAIDS, HRW and Amnesty have all called for decriminalization, but the US prevents funding to groups who support decriminalization. One of these groups is Empower, whose work may have saved millions from being infected.

 

Here's a trailer to their upcoming film "The Last Condom in Siam" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QT_WMYAyYTs

[Kasset Tak]

The problem with aids/HIV and most other illnesses... if there is a treatment of the symptoms, they why do they not try to find a cure?!
Because then the pharmaceutical companies can make more money from the affected people.

And also, I have listened to a group of gay men (westerners) here in Thailand that said that there is no need for using condoms and be afraid of aids/HIV anymore because there are new pills... The same group said that HIV is not a gay problem as heterosexual women are at the same number of new HIV cases today as gay men... But even of this would be correct there is still one other problem, only about 5% of the population are gay men compared to heterosexual women that are about 40% of the population. So, there is a BIG statistical difference if there are 1,000 gay men with HIV and 1,000 heterosexual women with HIV... leading to that it's 8-10 times more likely for a homosexual man to have/get HIV then it is for a heterosexual woman!

[digger70]

3 hours ago, wvavin said:

Is there anymore things that are competent in this country except corruption?

Not much   

[Krataiboy]

38 minutes ago, Kasset Tak said:

The problem with aids/HIV and most other illnesses... if there is a treatment of the symptoms, they why do they not try to find a cure?!
Because then the pharmaceutical companies can make more money from the affected people.

And also, I have listened to a group of gay men (westerners) here in Thailand that said that there is no need for using condoms and be afraid of aids/HIV anymore because there are new pills... The same group said that HIV is not a gay problem as heterosexual women are at the same number of new HIV cases today as gay men... But even of this would be correct there is still one other problem, only about 5% of the population are gay men compared to heterosexual women that are about 40% of the population. So, there is a BIG statistical difference if there are 1,000 gay men with HIV and 1,000 heterosexual women with HIV... leading to that it's 8-10 times more likely for a homosexual man to have/get HIV then it is for a heterosexual woman!

It is worth pointing out to your gay friends that, despite all the advances in HIV-AIDS medication, men who have sex with other men (MSM) are responsible for ninety percent of all new HIV infections in Thailand.

 

The facts, from the latest Avert report, speak for themselves - and deserve to be listened to more than all the reassuring public relations propaganda from pharmaceutical companies and the lame excuses for reckless individual behavior trotted out by gay activists.

 

Would anybody in their right mind risk frostbite by wading through snow without shoes on? Of course not. So why do so many men - mainly, but by no means exclusively MSM - risk their health (and potentially, of course, that of their partners and their partners' other sexual partners!) by not using a condom?

 

This key question is not only one the Thai government needs to address in responding to the latest calls for more effective  prevention programmes. It should be uppermost in the minds of every man - whether gay or straight - who risks his health and those of others by not using a love glove.

[DrTuner]

Intellectual .. in Thailand.... thihihihiii. Good for a chuckle.

[Krataiboy]

4 hours ago, Sheryl said:

Actually,  HIV treatment serves a substantial preventive function as viral suppression renders people non-infectious. Once the viral load is undetectable - usually within 3-6 months of starting treatment - it is impossible for this person to transmit the virus to others, neither by sex, shared needles nor in utero (in the case of pregnant women).

 

Countries which have succeeded in eradicating HIV as a significant  public helaht concern have all, done so with a combination of both primary prevention AND universal access to treatment for those infected. no place has done this through "safe sex" messages alone.

HIV prevention is clearly more desirable - to anyone other than Big Pharma, at least - than any of the current chemical "cures", such as PEPs (post exposure prophylactics) and PrEPS (pre-exposure prophylactics).

 

The problem with PEPS and PrEPs is their effectiveness relies on patients adhering to a particular drug-taking regime. And, as with condom use, the unfortunate reality is that some people will invariably act less responsibly than others.    

https://www.mdmag.com/medical-news/onethird-of-low-viral-load-hiv-patients-avoid-treatment

 

In any case, even when used by the book, PEPs are not 100 per cent effective in preventing HIV transmission. Concern is beginning to grow, too, over the emergence of mutant PeRP-resistant HIV strains.

https://www.healthline.com/health-news/why-are-drug-resistant-hiv-strains-more-prevalent#4

 

An unfortunate paradox in the HIV-AIDS saga is that, as faith in new and costly HIV drugs such as PEPs and PeRPs grows, the popularity of the cheap and cheerful condom continues to decline - along with our best chance of stopping the epidemic in its tracks.

Edited November 29, 2018 by Krataiboy