[Ip-health] PhRMA statement on Brazilian compulsory licensing dispute

[mpalmedo@cptech.org]

http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/050701/dcf032.html?.v=14

PhRMA Statement on Protecting Patent Rights in Brazil
Friday July 1, 2:22 pm ET


WASHINGTON, July 1 /PRNewswire/ -- PhRMA President and CEO Billy Tauzin
issued the following statement today on the importance of protecting
patent rights in Brazil:

"America's biopharmaceutical researchers have been working with the
Brazilian government to make Brazil's HIV/AIDS program one of the best in
the world. Innovative drugs have helped tens of thousands of patients in
Brazil live fuller and longer lives. As a matter of policy, the solution
to helping Brazilian HIV/AIDS patients lies in furthering the constructive
relationships between our companies and the government of Brazil -- not
breaking patents."

The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA)
represents the country's leading pharmaceutical research and biotechnology
companies, which are devoted to inventing medicines that allow patients to
live longer, healthier, and more productive lives. PhRMA members invested
an estimated $38.8 billion in 2004 in discovering and developing new
medicines. PhRMA companies are leading the way in the search for new
cures.