[Ip-health] E. African Standard: Kenyan Change in Patent Law to Raise Cost of Drugs by 300 Percent

[Mike Palmedo]

http://allafrica.com/stories/200607250122.html

Kenya: Change in Patent Law to Raise Cost of Drugs By 300 Percent

The East African Standard
July 25, 2006
Richard Chesos
Nairobi

The proposed amendments to the Intellectual Property law will cause the
cost of essential drugs to rise by a margin of at least 300 per cent, it
emerged on Monday.

Dr John Wasonga, a HIV/Aids specialist, said the cost of anti-retroviral
drugs used to prevent mother-to-child transmission would rise to Sh1,770
from Sh155 - an increase of more than 1,000 per cent.

The proposed amendments to the law will restrict the Government to
purchasing patented drugs and restrict access to generics, whose low
pricing has enabled thousands of Kenyans to access treatment for endemic
conditions such as HIV/Aids and infectious diseases like malaria and
tuberculosis.

On Monday, it emerged that the proposed amendments were taken to
Parliament despite opposition by the Director of Medical Services, Dr
James Nyikal. The DMS is said to have written to the Attorney General
expressing reservations about the amendments, but their originators
appear to have held sway.

HIV/Aids treatment specialists reckon a monthly dose of patented ARV
drugs costs Sh4,500 compared to Sh1,500 per patient for the six-dose
generic drugs.

The latter are still beyond the reach of millions of Kenyans who fall
under the 60 per cent bracket of those living below the poverty line.
Activists argue that the IP Act in its present form is in tandem with
the World Trade Organisation's (WTO) Agreement on Trade Related Aspects
of Intellectual Property Rights (Trips) that outlines minimum standards
for patent protection for incorporation into national legislation.

Legal experts view the amendment as posing the risk of restricting
Kenya's powers to invoke the special Trips clause that allows WTO member
states to use generic drugs in special circumstances.

India and Brazil have, for example, invoked this clause to manufacture
generic versions of ARVs, which has benefited millions of HIV patients
across the globe.

The Bill, which is expected to be debated this week, seeks to amend
sections 6(a), 11(2)(a), 58(2), 82 and delete sections 80 (1A), (1B) and
(1C) of the Industrial Property (IP) Act 2001.

Ms Monique Wanjala, a HIV/Aids patient, supported the IP Act in its
current form because it offers flexibility that allows for importation
of cheap generic drugs. Wanjala, who has been on ARVs for two-and-a-half
years, said the proposed changes would delay procurement of essential
drugs and cause many deaths.

The activists wondered why the amendments were being re-introduced yet
former President Moi had rejected them in 2002. They alleged mischief in
the action and urged Amos Wako to disclose their originator.