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

[Gaëlle Krikorian]

Does anybody know from where the price assessments are coming from?

best,

gaelle

On Jul 25, 2006, at 12:59 PM, Mike Palmedo wrote:

> 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.
>
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----------------------
Gaëlle Krikorian

Researcher

CRESP
Research Center on Health, Social and Political Issues
Inserm - Université Paris 13 - Ecoles des Hautes Etudes en Sciences
Sociales

Email: galk@free.fr
Cell France: +33 (0)6 09 17 70 55
Cell US: +1 917 689 5086