[Ip-health] MSF op-ed: "Drug companies focus on profits, not people" (Victoria Times Colonist, 20 Apr 2004)

[Richard Elliott]

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[ Picked text/plain from multipart/alternative ]

Times Colonist (Victoria)
Tue 20 Apr 2004
Page: A11
Section: Comment

DRUG COMPANIES FOCUS ON PROFITS, NOT PEOPLE
By David Morley

I must take issue with a number of the comments raised by Jacques Lefebvre
of Rx&D, the lobby group of the brand-name pharmaceutical industry in
Canada, in his April 12 article in the Times Colonist.

Ever since Medecins Sans Frontieres launched our Access to Essential
Medicines campaign five years ago in an effort to lower the cost of
life-saving medicines in the poor regions of the world, brand-name
pharmaceutical companies have opposed us.

First of all they belittled our efforts, saying that we were just
do-gooders who might be good at saving lives, but didn't understand
commerce. At global trade negotiations, where we supported agreements to
stimulate competition -- for our experience shows us that increased
competition is the key to bringing down prices -- they opposed us.

When we asked the brand-name companies not to stop production of DFMO, a
life-saving medicine that cures the fatal African sleeping sickness, they
refused - until it turned out that DFMO could also be used in a cosmetic
product in North America.

We have learned from bitter experience that the profit motive was far more
important than the health and well-being of poor people in poor countries.

Last fall this debate came to Canada, when the government proposed
legislation to allow generic drug manufacturers the opportunity to
manufacture and export life-saving medicines to countries in Africa, Asia
and Latin America.

The brand-name pharmaceutical companies persisted in their opposition,
using the same tactics they had before.

First they belittled the initiative.

"People are going to pat themselves on the back for doing something that's
window-dressing" said Harvey Bales, the director-general of the
International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association. "It
won't solve a thing."

Then they tried to pit the health of Canadians against the lives of
Africans by saying that changing patent legislation would damage their
ability to research new medicines.

Now, as this legislation, known as Bill C-9, reaches its final stages, they
support clauses in the legislation which will limit competition -- the key
to bringing down prices. At every opportunity they have put profits before
patients.

If, as Lefebvre says, the brand-name pharmaceutical companies are finally
undertaking some initiatives around the world to increase access to
essential medicines by the world's poor, it has only been because there is
increased competition from generic companies, and because they have
realized that their greed in trying to increase profits on the backs of the
world's poorest people was unacceptable to consumers in the industrialized
world.

Now Lefebvre and the brand-name pharmaceutical companies have an
opportunity to show how sincere they really are in their desire to help
some of the world's poorest people.  They can stop championing the clauses
in Bill C-9 that limit competition, and support measures to make
less-expensive life-saving medicine available to the people who need it mos=
t.

- David Morley is executive director of Medecins Sans Frontieres Canada. He
is based in Toronto.

Edition: Final
Story Type: Business; Opinion
Length: 484 words


Richard Elliott
Director, Legal Research & Policy / Directeur, politiques et recherche
juridique
Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network / R=E9seau juridique canadien VIH/sida
890 Yonge Street, Suite 700, Toronto, Canada M4W 3P4
Tel : +1 (416) 595-1666                 Fax +1 (416) 595-0094
E-mail: relliott@aidslaw.ca     Web: www.aidslaw.ca

The Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network is a partner organisation of the
AIDS Law Project of South Africa, and a non-governmental organization in
Special Consultative Status with the Economic and Social Council of the
United Nations. //
Le R=E9seau juridique canadien VIH/sida est un organisme partenaire  du AID=
S
Law Project
de l'Afrique du Sud et ONG dot=E9 de statut consultatif sp=E9cial aupr=E8s =
du
Conseil =E9conomique
et social des Nations Unies.
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