Clinton gives in on AIDS drugs for 'poor' countries

[Thiru Balasubramaniam <thiru@cptech.org>]

This article on Clinton's announcement of US's new policy on access to AIDS-drugs in developing countries appeared in the South African newspaper, "The Mail & Guardian".


http://www.africanews.org/health/stories/19991203/19991203_feat1.html



Clinton gives in on AIDS drugs for 'poor' countries

The Mail & Guardian (Johannesburg) December 3, 1999 By Aaron Nicodemus

Johannesburg - The United States has done an about-face this week on the
issue of intellectual property rights for Aids drugs, a development
welcomed by Aids activists and researchers.

On World Aids Day, President Bill Clinton announced that the US will
develop a co- operative approach on health-related intellectual property
matters in order for "poor" countries to gain access to affordable
medicines.

The announcement means that the anti- retroviral drug AZT, which has been
found to reduce mother-to-child transmission of HIV by 50%, could become
widely available in countries devastated by the Aids epidemic.

The announcement is a dramatic turnaround from the US government's position
on the issue only six months ago. Earlier this year, Vice-President and
presidential candidate Al Gore was caught out by Aids activists for
lobbying on behalf of the US pharmaceutical industry. Gore was part of the
team that was pressing South Africa not to allow "parallel exports" of
generic drugs. At the time, the US was attempting to protect its powerful
pharmaceutical industry, which views generic drugs as a threat to profits.

Clinton said in his announcement "the US trade law related to intellectual
property [should] remain sufficiently flexible to respond to legitimate
public health crises". He called upon the US trading partners to join his
effort "to improve access to medical treatment". The announcement
specifically mentioned HIV- related treatments.

Morna Cornell, director of the Aids Consortium and leading local activist
against the previous US position, called the change of heart "a step in the
right direction". She noted that local and international activism on the
issue made the US government's stance untenable.

"It shows the power of popular opinion and people making their voices
heard," she said. "It also is a sign to the American government that there
are issues more important than profit."

A leading Aids researcher was less sure that the victory would translate
into tangible benefits for South Africa. "The US is very strict about
intellectual property rights, be it McDonald's or a drug like AZT," said
Salim Abdool Karim, head of the Aids vaccine research for the Medical
Research Council.

"Will it mean that South Africa will be allowed to manufacture a generic
equivalent of AZT, or at least import generic drugs from other countries? I
really can't see it allowing us to bypass Glaxo-Wellcome's patent on AZT."

The latest estimate to provide AZT to every HIV-positive person in South
Africa, even with Glaxo-Wellcome's offer of a 70% cost reduction, is
R80-million a year. Abdool Karim said "generic equivalents could reduce
that cost significantly".

Glaxo-Wellcome's medical director for sub-Saharan Africa, Dr Peter Moore,
was cautious in his assessment of the announcement: "If there is a
co-operative agreement that provides less expensive drugs while also
respecting companies' intellectual property rights, we welcome it."

Moore said Glaxo-Wellcome would want to be sure its "rights are guaranteed"
under any new agreement on intellectual property rights.