[Ip-health] UAEM Letter to Wisconsin re Abbott

[Michael Steffen]

Dear all -

In conjunction with the international actions today and tomorrow
against Abbott's withdrawal of medicines in Thailand, Universities
Allied for Essential Medicines sent the following public letter today
to the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF), the licensing arm
of the University of Wisconsin.

WARF owns the critical IP on one of the seven drugs Abbott is using
as political leverage in Thailand (Zemplar). We are asking WARF to
take a public stand against this use of its IP, in accordance with
principles on ethical licensing that WARF  signed just last month.

Please contact me if you are interested in this issue or would be
interested in writing a letter of support.

Very best,

Michael Steffen
Executive Director
Universities Allied for Essential Medicines

=3D=3D

April 26, 2007

Carl E. Gulbrandsen
Managing Director
Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation
1330 Warf Office Building
610 Walnut St.
Madison, WI 53726

Dear Mr. Gulbrandsen,

On behalf of many concerned students at the University of Wisconsin,
Madison, we request WARF to publicly call on Abbott Laboratories to
immediately end its unconscionable use of one of our university=92s
most prized innovations.

As you know, Thailand recently utilized the public health safeguards
created by the World Trade Organization=92s TRIPS Agreement to issue
compulsory licenses on several life-saving drugs in Thailand,
including Aluvia, a critical HIV/AIDS medication.[1]  Immediately
after its decision, Abbott Laboratories, the brand-name marketer of
Aluvia, stated that it will no longer launch new medicines in
Thailand. It also officially withdrew all pending drug registration
applications in the country.  Under international pressure, Abbott
offered to reduce Aluvia=92s price, but refuses to reintroduce any of
the withdrawn drugs until the Thai government cedes to its demands.
Thus, Doctors Without Borders and other humanitarian organizations
have criticized Abbott for denying access to important medication as
a political strategy.

Wealthy nations regularly issue compulsory licenses,[2] but
developing countries have been hesitant to invoke their legal rights
due to fear of retaliation.  If Abbott succeeds it will send a strong
warning to these governments that exercising their legitimate
flexibilities under TRIPS will come at a high cost. The lives of
patients not only in Thailand, but all around the world, hang in the
balance.

After our recent meeting with you, we confirmed that one of Madison=92s
own greatest medical discoveries is being used as a political weapon
in this campaign. We have attached a letter from Abbott-Thailand to
the Thai government requesting the withdrawal of several forms of
Zemplar. Local sources confirm that the withdrawal remains in effect.

We believe this presents an important opportunity for WARF to
continue its leadership role in socially-responsible technology
transfer. In a statement of principles on =93Licensing in the Public
Interest,=94 released just last month, WARF wrote:

"Universities have a social compact with society.  .  . .  We have a
specific and central role in helping to advance knowledge in many
fields and to manage the deployment of resulting innovations for the
public benefit. In no field is the importance of doing so clearer
than it is in medicine.

Around the world millions of people are suffering and dying from
preventable or curable diseases.  The failure to prevent or treat
disease has many causes. We have a responsibility to try to alleviate
it, including finding a way to share the fruits of what we learn
globally, at sustainable and affordable prices, for the benefit of
the world=92s poor."

In accordance with these principles, we look to WARF to publicly call
on Abbott to immediately resume registration of Zemplar. On April
27th, patients, doctors, and others around the world will focus on
Abbott, coinciding with the organization=92s general shareholders
meeting. Leaders from the patient community in Thailand will use the
opportunity to speak directly to Abbott executives to demand that
drugs not be used as political leverage and patients not be used as
political hostages. We ask that WARF, as the owner of the patents on
one of these critical drugs, add its unique and powerful voice to the
call for justice in the developing world.

The unique ability of universities to demand ethical deployment of
the drugs they develop has been proven. In 2001, Yale successfully
persuaded Bristol-Myers Squibb to allow generic versions of Yale=92s
lifesaving AIDS drug stavudine.  This move, the first major
concession by a patent holder on an AIDS medicine, was a watershed
moment in the struggle for AIDS treatment. We now stand at another
critical juncture for the millions suffering of disease in developing
countries- and it is again time for a university to use its voice.

We look forward to your response before the 4th of May, and we are
available to discuss the issue further prior to this date.

Sincerely,

Katherine Guerra, kathmguerra@wisc.edu, Student Global AIDS Campaign
Anna Igler, ajigler@wisc.edu, American Medical Student Association
Hannah Kirking, hlkirking@wisc.edu, UW Global Health Interest Group
Branden Pfefferkorn, pfefferkorn@wisc.edu , American Medical Student
Association
Micheal Steffen, masteffen@gmail.com, Universities Allied for
Essential Medicines (UAEM)
Robynn Sturm, robynn.sturm@gmail.com, UAEM
Virginia Zaunbrecher, virginiamz@boalthall.berkeley.edu, UAEM


cc: Chancellor John Wiley, Dr. Hector DeLuca

[1] See World Trade Organization Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects
of Intellectual Property Rights, Artile 31(b). See also Doha
Declaration on the TRIPS Agreement and Public Health.

[2] For example, Italy recently issued compulsory licenses for
patents on Finasteride, a drug to treat prostate problems. See http://
www.agcm.it/agcm_eng/COSTAMPA/E_PRESS.NSF/
92e82eb9012a8bc6c125652a00287fbd/28653b373e56772ac12572ab003a4d68.
For more examples, see James Packard Love, Recent Examples of
Compulsory Licensing of Patents (http://www.keionline.org/index.php?
option=3Dcom_content&task=3Dview&id=3D41)