[Ip-health] AP: Annan says UN will ensure access to medication in case of flu pandemic

[Thiru Balasubramaniam]

<SNIP>

UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan said Thursday the United Nations will
not let intellectual property rights stand in the way of access to flu
treatments and vaccines in case of a pandemic.

"We should be clear in this situation: We will take the measures to make
sure poor and rich have access to the medications and the vaccines
required," Annan said, calling on rich nations and pharmaceutical
companies to help impoverished countries prepare themselves.

Annan said he will be "encouraging pharmaceutical companies and others
to be helpful and making sure we do not allow intellectual property
rights to get in the way of access of the poor to medication."

<SNIP>

Annan did not specify whether he was referring to the patented drug
Tamiflu, which governments are scrambling to stockpile. Tamiflu, made by
the Swiss pharmaceutical company Roche, is considered the only drug that
can treat human cases of bird flu and is thought to be the best
protection in the early days of a human flu pandemic.

<SNIP>

"We need to be able to organize this ahead of time so that we don't have
to quibble about these things when a crisis and critical moment
arrives," Annan said.

"I wouldn't want to hear that same kind of debate we got into with
antiretrovirals and HIV/AIDS."

<SNIP>

Last week, Annan appointed Dr. David Nabarro to lead the coordination of
a global response to the bird flu and a possible human pandemic.

Nabarro warned that such a pandemic could kill anywhere between 5
million and 150 million people. The WHO later moved to dampen fears over
Nabarro's predictions, saying that a maximum death toll of 7.4 million
was a better forecast.




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Annan says UN will ensure access to medication in case of flu pandemic


Bradley Klapper
Canadian Press


Thursday, October 06, 2005

GENEVA (AP) - UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan said Thursday the United
Nations will not let intellectual property rights stand in the way of
access to flu treatments and vaccines in case of a pandemic.

"We should be clear in this situation: We will take the measures to make
sure poor and rich have access to the medications and the vaccines
required," Annan said, calling on rich nations and pharmaceutical
companies to help impoverished countries prepare themselves.

Annan said he will be "encouraging pharmaceutical companies and others
to be helpful and making sure we do not allow intellectual property
rights to get in the way of access of the poor to medication."

Patents allow the developer of a drug an exclusive right to make and
sell the drug for several years. But sometimes countries are allowed to
create generic versions of patented drugs, if the medicine is considered
essential.

Annan met the global body's top health officials to discuss the bird flu
virus, which has affected parts of Asia.

"Some countries are not prepared," Annan told reporters at World Health
Organization headquarters.

"Some are obviously complacent. Others do not have the capacity and need
help to be able to do it and we need to identify those countries and
offer them help."

Annan's comments were a "very interesting political statement",
according to humanitarian organization Medecins Sans Frontieres, or
Doctors without Borders.

"The UN has no legal power over patents, but national governments can
set them aside, on a variety of grounds, including public health," said
Ellen 't Hoen, director of policy advocacy at MSF's campaign for
essential medicines.

Annan did not specify whether he was referring to the patented drug
Tamiflu, which governments are scrambling to stockpile. Tamiflu, made by
the Swiss pharmaceutical company Roche, is considered the only drug that
can treat human cases of bird flu and is thought to be the best
protection in the early days of a human flu pandemic.

Once a pandemic emerges, a vaccine, as well as possibly more drugs, are
expected to be created or identified, and the UN wants to ensure
everyone will be able to get some, regardless of cost or availability.

Countries would be able to create their own generic versions of such drugs.

"We need to be able to organize this ahead of time so that we don't have
to quibble about these things when a crisis and critical moment
arrives," Annan said.

"I wouldn't want to hear that same kind of debate we got into with
antiretrovirals and HIV/AIDS."

Some countries, such as Brazil and India, have already broken patents
under global trade laws to produce generic versions of patented AIDS
medication, but they faced protests from intellectual property rights
advocates and industry groups.

Annan was briefed by Margaret Chan, WHO's top official in charge of
monitoring avian influenza. Chan said over 140 million chickens have
been culled or died in the fight to prevent more bird-to-human
transmissions of the virus.

The slaughtering of the poultry has cost some $12 billion US.

The latest bird flu epidemic has infected 110 people, over half of whom
have died, Chan said.

"We have never seen this kind of mortality rate."

Last week, Annan appointed Dr. David Nabarro to lead the coordination of
a global response to the bird flu and a possible human pandemic.

Nabarro warned that such a pandemic could kill anywhere between 5
million and 150 million people. The WHO later moved to dampen fears over
Nabarro's predictions, saying that a maximum death toll of 7.4 million
was a better forecast.

=A9 The Canadian Press 2005