[Ip-health] RE: Ip-health digest, Vol 1 #2399 - 9 msgs
Wijnberg, dhr. B.
b.wijnberg@minvws.nl
Thu Jul 26 13:09:07 2007
Dear editor,
I am subscribing to your mails, but I would request your help to make your =
mails more "legible"
Just as an example:
=3D0D
Sydney, 24 July, 2007 =3DE2=3D80=3D93 New paediatric treatment data present=
ed by =3D the=3D0D international medical humanitarian organization M=3DC3=
=3DA9decins Sans Fronti=3D =3DC3=3DA8res=3D0D
My webmaster in the office tells me he cannot make these codes into real le=
tters. My question is: could you? I understand that
Sans Fronti=3D =3DC3=3DA8res=3D0D should read Fronti=E8res, accents and all=
, but they are converted all the time. Same probably for quotation marks.
Any solution?
Kind regards,
Bart Wijnberg
Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport
Department of Pharmaceutical Affairs and Medical Technology
P.O. Box 20350
2500 EJ The Hague, Netherlands
T: +31 70 340 7230
F: +31 70 340 7187
M: +31 6 150 35 484
-----Oorspronkelijk bericht-----
Van: ip-health-admin@lists.essential.org [mailto:ip-health-admin@lists.esse=
ntial.org] Namens ip-health-request@lists.essential.org
Verzonden: dinsdag 24 juli 2007 18:00
Aan: ip-health@lists.essential.org
Onderwerp: Ip-health digest, Vol 1 #2399 - 9 msgs
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e: Contents of Ip-health digest..."
Today's Topics:
1. MSF: Paediatric AIDS Data Show Good Clinical, But Sub-optimal Virolog=
ical
Outcomes (Sheila.SHETTLE@geneva.msf.org)
2. Voice of America: New Report Raises Concerns Over Price of New AIDS D=
rugs (Sheila.SHETTLE@geneva.msf.org)
3. New York Times: A Patent Is Worth Having, Right? Well, Maybe Not (Thi=
ru Balasubramaniam)
4. Penn State Study Urges 'Compensation-Based' Approach to Drug Patent
Compulsory Licensing (Mike Palmedo)
5. DPA, Nation: Thai activists attack drug ban (Sheila.SHETTLE@geneva.ms=
f.org)
6. Clinton Foundation subsidizes malaria drugs in Africa (Philip Coticel=
li)
7. MSFon WTO receives first notification under 'paragraph 6' system (Ale=
xandra HEUMBER)
--__--__--
Message: 1
From: Sheila.SHETTLE@geneva.msf.org
Date: Tue, 24 Jul 2007 06:28:05 +0200
To: undisclosed-recipients:;
Subject: [Ip-health] MSF: Paediatric AIDS Data Show Good Clinical, But Sub-=
optimal Virological Outcomes
New Paediatric AIDS Treatment Data Show Good Clinical Results=3D0D
But Sub-optimal Virological Outcomes=3D0D
=3D0D
Urgent need to get existing paediatric formulations to children who need=
=3D =3D0D
them=3D0D
=3D0D
Sydney, 24 July, 2007 =3DE2=3D80=3D93 New paediatric treatment data present=
ed by =3D the=3D0D international medical humanitarian organization M=3DC3=
=3DA9decins Sans Fronti=3D =3DC3=3DA8res=3D0D
(MSF) at the 4th International AIDS Society conference in Sydney=3D0D demon=
strate good clinical results but sub-optimal virological outcomes. The=3D =
=3D0D results confirm concerns about the effectiveness of treating children=
=3D0D without access to appropriate and adapted paediatric AIDS drug=3D0D f=
ormulations.=3D0D =3D0D MSF presented data on virological, pharmacological =
and adherence outcomes=3D =3D0D for a cohort of children in rural Uganda at=
12 and 24 months on treatment.=3D =3D0D The probability of remaining alive=
and in care was good, with 91% and 86%=3D =3D0D on treatment at six months=
and 12 months, respectively. However, viral load=3D =3D0D results, which a=
re a strong predictor of long-term survival, were not as=3D0D
encouraging. A viral load of below 400 copies was achieved in only 59% of=
=3D
=3D0D
children after 12 months and 33% after 24 months. Of children identified=
=3D =3D0D with a high viral load (over 1000 copies), 85% showed resistance =
to one or=3D =3D0D more of the commonly-used first-line antiretroviral drug=
s.=3D0D =3D0D =3DE2=3D80=3D9COur treatment outcomes in children are a refle=
ction of how difficu=3D lt it=3D0D has been to treat children with drugs th=
at aren=3DE2=3D80=3D99t designed for them=3D ,=3DE2=3D80=3D9D said=3D0D Dr.=
Myrto Schaefer, Paediatric HIV/AIDS Advisor for MSF. =3DE2=3D80=3D9CBecau=
se=3D =3D0D appropriate formulations have not been available for children, =
we=3DE2=3D80=3D99v=3D e had to=3D0D treat them by cutting adult tablets in =
two, or give them syrups that are=3D0D hard to measure and swallow. This a=
pproximate method of dosing and=3D0D administration may be what is contribu=
ting to the less-than-ideal=3D0D virological outcomes we are finding.=3DE2=
=3D80=3D9D=3D0D =3D0D Over one year ago, several generic manufacturers laun=
ched the first=3D0D fixed-dose combination tablets for children. These thr=
ee-in-one pills make=3D =3D0D dosing easier and more accurate. While WHO h=
as endorsed the use of these=3D =3D0D existing formulations, it still has n=
ot listed any of these products in=3D0D their prequalification program. Th=
is has the practical effect that=3D0D children across the developing world =
do not have access to these products.=3D =3D0D Because of these delays, MSF=
has internally validated the use of the=3D0D paediatric fixed-dose combina=
tions for use in its projects.=3D0D =3D0D =3DE2=3D80=3D9CWHO has been movin=
g far too slowly on paediatric AIDS drugs,=3DE2=3D80=3D =3D9D said Karen=3D=
0D Day, pharmacist with MSF=3DE2=3D80=3D99s Campaign for Access to Essentia=
l Medicin=3D es. =3DE2=3D80=3D9CIt=3D0D is unacceptable that now that thes=
e products finally exist, WHO is not=3D0D doing what is necessary to approv=
e the drugs they recommend so that they=3D0D become more widely available. =
Children have had to wait five years longer=3D =3D0D than adults for a thr=
ee-in-one AIDS drug, and they shouldn=3DE2=3D80=3D99t have t=3D o wait=3D0D=
any longer.=3DE2=3D80=3D9D=3D0D =3D0D MSF is currently treating 100,000 pa=
tients with HIV/AIDS in more than 30=3D0D countries, 7,000 of whom are chil=
dren. MSF has been caring for people=3D0D living with HIV/AIDS in developin=
g countries since the mid 1990s, and first=3D =3D0D began providing antiret=
roviral treatment in 2000 in Thailand and South=3D0D Africa.=3D0D =3D0D
Contact: Sheila Shettle: 043.943.2436 or + 41.79.293.0270=3D0D
James Nichols: 040.752.5700=3D0D
=3D0D
+++++++++++++++++++++=3D0D
Sheila Shettle=3D0D
Senior Communications Officer=3D0D
M=3DC3=3DA9decins Sans Fronti=3DC3=3DA8res=3D0D
Campaign for Access to Essential Medicines=3D0D
Rue de Lausanne 78=3D0D
1211 Geneva, Switzerland=3D0D
+ 41.22.849.8403=3D0D
+ 41.79.293.0270 (m.)=3D0D
www.accessmed-msf.org=3D0D
+++++++++++++++++++++++=3D0D
SIGN MSF'S 'DROP THE CASE' PETITION=3D0D
=3D0D
Millions of people around the world today rely on affordable medicines=3D0D=
produced in India. Pharmaceutical company Novartis is taking the Indian=
=3D0D government to court to force a change in the country's patent law. I=
f=3D0D Novartis wins, a major source of affordable medicines for millions o=
f=3D0D people across the globe could dry up.=3D0D =3D0D MSF is urging Novar=
tis to DROP THE CASE.=3D0D =3D0D Find out more and sign up to our petition:=
=3D0D http://www.msf.org/petition_india/international.html=3D0D
=3D0D
=3D0D
--__--__--
Message: 2
From: Sheila.SHETTLE@geneva.msf.org
Date: Tue, 24 Jul 2007 09:11:43 +0200
To: undisclosed-recipients:;
Subject: [Ip-health] Voice of America: New Report Raises Concerns Over Pric=
e of New AIDS Drugs
=3D0D
|New Report Raises Concerns Over Price of New AIDS Drugs |=3D0=
D
|By Joe De Capua |=3D0=
D
|Washington |=3D0=
D
|23 July 2007 |=3D0=
D
|=3D0D
=3D0D
The humanitarian group =3DE2=3D80=3D93 Doctors Without Borders =3DE2=3D80=
=3D93 has rele=3D ased a new=3D0D report on prices of AIDS drugs. It says w=
hile there have been dramatic=3D0D price reductions for some older medicine=
s, newer, less toxic drugs may cost=3D =3D0D significantly more. The report=
was released Monday at the 4th International=3D =3D0D AIDS Society Confere=
nce in Sydney, Australia.=3D0D =3D0D =3D0D The report - entitled =3DE2=3D80=
=3D9CUntangling the Web of Price Reductions=3DE2=3D80=3D =3D9D =3DE2=3D80=
=3D93 looks at=3D0D the cost of first-line and second-line antiretroviral d=
rugs. First-line=3D0D drugs are the initial combination of medicines given =
to someone with HIV,=3D =3D0D the AIDS virus. Second-line drugs are prescri=
bed when the first drug=3D0D cocktail loses its effectiveness.=3D0D =3D0D =
=3D0D Karen Day is a pharmacist with Doctors Without Borders=3DE2=3D80=3D99=
Campaign fo=3D r Access=3D0D to Essential Medicines. She says the report c=
an help countries make=3D0D informed decisions when buying the medicine.=3D=
0D =3D0D =3D0D =3DE2=3D80=3D9CThere were two main points that came out this=
year. Well, two most=3D =3D0D significant changes in these last 12 months =
is that the second line prices=3D =3D0D are finally starting to move and co=
me down. And then in the first-line=3D0D regime =3DE2=3D80=3D93 well, the g=
ood news of the first-line is it=3DE2=3D80=3D99s now =3D available under=3D=
0D $100 per year. On the flip side of that, though, is as WHO (World Health=
=3D0D
Organization) has recommended moving away from this regime to a less toxic=
=3D =3D0D one it looks like we=3DE2=3D80=3D99re putting back the prices of =
the first-line r=3D egime to=3D0D almost $400 or $500 (per year), which is =
putting us back about six years,=3D =3DE2=3D80=3D9D=3D0D she says.=3D0D =3D=
0D =3D0D Years of negotiations, legal battles and lobbying have brought the=
cost of=3D =3D0D current first-line medications below $100 a year in devel=
oping countries..=3D =3D0D =3D0D =3D0D =3DE2=3D80=3D9CThe current first lin=
e that=3DE2=3D80=3D99s used today predominantly in =3D developing=3D0D coun=
tries is a combination of three drugs - Lamivudine, Stevudine and=3D0D Nevi=
rapine. And it=3DE2=3D80=3D99s three tablets in one pill. So it=3DE2=3D80=
=3D99s a f=3D ixed-dose=3D0D combination,=3DE2=3D80=3D9D she says.=3D0D =3D=
0D =3D0D Day says that the price of the first-line combo is rising because =
the World=3D =3D0D Health Organization has recommended replacing Stevudine =
with Tonofovir,=3D0D which has fewer side effects. But before the price of =
newer drugs can come=3D =3D0D down, and before they=3DE2=3D80=3D99re readil=
y available in developing countries,=3D issues=3D0D such as patents, gener=
ic copies and availability must be resolved first.=3D0D =3D0D =3D0D The goo=
d news in the Doctors Without Borders report is that prices for=3D0D second=
-line medicines are down sharply. One reason is that is they have=3D0D been=
standardized and simplified by the WHO. Another is the effect of a=3D0D co=
mpulsory license issued by Thailand in January. In certain situations,=3D0D=
trade agreements allow a country to issue a compulsory license, which=3D0D=
allows it to legally import or manufacture an AIDS drug locally. In effect=
,=3D =3D0D it bypasses some of the patent regulations.=3D0D =3D0D =3D0D =3D=
E2=3D80=3D9CMore competition. That=3DE2=3D80=3D99s the best way we=3DE2=3D8=
0=3D99ve seen t=3D o get prices coming=3D0D down. With multiple producers, =
it=3DE2=3D80=3D99s the best way to bring on the=3D0D competition,=3DE2=3D80=
=3D9D she says.=3D0D =3D0D =3D0D Doctors Without Borders says, =3DE2=3D80=
=3D9CSignificant delays persist between w=3D hen=3D0D newer treatments beco=
me available in wealthy countries and when they become=3D =3D0D available i=
n the developing world.=3DE2=3D80=3D9D=3D0D =3D0D =3D0D =3D0D =3D0D
+++++++++++++++++++++=3D0D
Sheila Shettle=3D0D
Senior Communications Officer=3D0D
M=3DC3=3DA9decins Sans Fronti=3DC3=3DA8res=3D0D
Campaign for Access to Essential Medicines=3D0D
Rue de Lausanne 78=3D0D
1211 Geneva, Switzerland=3D0D
+ 41.22.849.8403=3D0D
+ 41.79.293.0270 (m.)=3D0D
www.accessmed-msf.org=3D0D
+++++++++++++++++++++++=3D0D
SIGN MSF'S 'DROP THE CASE' PETITION=3D0D
=3D0D
Millions of people around the world today rely on affordable medicines=3D0D=
produced in India. Pharmaceutical company Novartis is taking the Indian=
=3D0D government to court to force a change in the country's patent law. I=
f=3D0D Novartis wins, a major source of affordable medicines for millions o=
f=3D0D people across the globe could dry up.=3D0D =3D0D MSF is urging Novar=
tis to DROP THE CASE.=3D0D =3D0D Find out more and sign up to our petition:=
=3D0D http://www.msf.org/petition_india/international.html=3D0D
=3D0D
=3D0D
--__--__--
Message: 3
To: a2k@lists.essential.org, ip-health@lists.essential.org
From: Thiru Balasubramaniam <thiru@keionline.org>
Date: Tue, 24 Jul 2007 09:22:25 +0200
Subject: [Ip-health] New York Times: A Patent Is Worth Having, Right? Well,=
Maybe Not
July 15, 2007
Prototype
A Patent Is Worth Having, Right? Well, Maybe Not
By MICHAEL FITZGERALD
PATENTS are supposed to give inventors an incentive to create things that s=
pur economic growth. For some companies, especially in the pharmaceutical b=
usiness, patents do just that by allowing them to pull in billions in profi=
ts from brand-name, blockbuster drugs. But for most public companies, paten=
ts don=3D92t pay off, say a couple of researchers who have crunched the num=
bers.
=3D93Today, over all, patents don=3D92t work; for the information technolog=
y industry especially, they don=3D92t work,=3D94 said James Bessen, who bec=
ame a lecturer at Boston University=3D92s law school after a career in busi=
ness. In 1983, he created the first computer publishing software with Wysiw=
yg (an acronym for =3D93what you see is what you get=3D94) printing abiliti=
es. He also founded a desktop publishing company, Bestinfo, later acquired =
by Intergraph.
Neither Mr. Bessen nor his company patented anything, in part because his l=
awyers told him that software couldn=3D92t be patented at the time. He ulti=
mately became interested in whether patents spurred innovation, since the s=
oftware industry for years innovated steadily without using many patents. H=
e and a colleague, Michael J. Meurer, are readying a book on the topic, =3D=
93Do Patents Work?,=3D94 due in 2008. (A synopsis and sample chapters are a=
t researchoninnovation.org/dopatentswork/.)
The two researchers have analyzed data from 1976 to 1999, the most recent y=
ear with complete data. They found that starting in the late 1990s, publicl=
y traded companies saw patent litigation costs outstrip patent profits. Spe=
cifically, they estimate that about $8.4 billion in global profits came dir=
ectly from patents held by publicly traded United States companies in 1997,=
rising to about $9.3 billion in 1999, with two-thirds of the profits going=
to chemical and pharmaceutical companies. Domestic litigation costs alone,=
meanwhile, soared to $16 billion in 1999 from $8 billion in 1997.
Things have probably become worse since then. For instance, patent litigati=
on is up: there were 2,318 patent-related suits in 1999, and 2,830 in fisca=
l 2006 (though that=3D92s down from the peak year, 2004, when 3,075 were fi=
led). Mr. Bessen said awards in patent cases also seemed to be up, though h=
e was less confident in that data. Worse, he says, companies doing the most=
research and development are sued the most.
Mr. Bessen=3D92s critique of the patent system does not go so far as that o=
f economists like Michele Boldrin and David K. Levine, who argue that the p=
atent system should be abolished ( http://www.dklevine.com/general/intellec=
tual/againstnew.htm). Mr. Bessen said that besides girding the pharmaceutic=
al industry, the system did seem to work reasonably well for small companie=
s and individual inventors. Still, he said that =3D93our finding is that th=
e risk of patent litigation is creating a disincentive for R&D,=3D94 especi=
ally for information technology companies, and that the system urgently nee=
ds change.
Mr. Bessen=3D92s data is controversial. John F. Duffy, a law professor at G=
eorge Washington University, thinks that Mr. Bessen and Mr. Meurer have und=
ervalued the profits made from patented items, though he acknowledged that =
a vast majority of patents are worthless.
Mr. Duffy, who thinks that the patent system remains a powerful innovation =
engine for the economy, also noted that the data covers only the private va=
lue of patents =3D97 it does not try to measure the social value of patents=
, that is, the impact an invention has for society at large. How, for examp=
le, might one measure the value of the stability of an airplane, which can =
be traced to an invention patented by the Wright Brothers?
Still, Mr. Duffy does not discount the research. In fact, he has invited Mr=
. Meurer to present it at a conference later this summer. =3D93The numbers =
are serious, and they are provocative,=3D94 Mr. Duffy said.
The data don=3D92t seem out of line to R. Polk Wagner, a law professor at t=
he University of Pennsylvania. He said that other research has established =
that patents typically are worth less than $10,000. =3D93It=3D92s not any s=
ecret that on a cash basis, it doesn=3D92t make sense to file patents, and =
yet companies do it,=3D94 Mr. Wagner said.
Some companies are still spending billions on research programs despite the=
increase in litigation costs. =3D93Whether or not the R&D efforts you make=
invite litigation in no way relates to whether you do them,=3D94 said Bern=
ard S. Meyerson, an I.B.M. fellow who is named on more than 40 patents and =
is currently chief technologist at its systems and technology group. I.B.M.=
has one of the corporate world=3D92s largest research budgets, spending so=
me $6 billion a year. And it does make money from its patents, at least on =
a licensing basis.
Of course, I.B.M. also employs 370 corporate patent lawyers who Mr. Meyerso=
n said work =3D93hand in hand=3D94 with the company=3D92s inventors, tryin=
=3D g to make sure that the company is aware of patent pitfalls that might =
affect its work.
I.B.M. and many other large high-tech companies have hefty patent portfolio=
s, which Mr. Meyerson said deters the companies from suing one another. He =
said the industry operates under a large intellectual-property umbrella: =
=3D93you are licensed under mine, I=3D92m licensed under yours, and by decl=
aring peace as opposed to war, you have freedom of action,=3D94 Mr. Meyerso=
n said.
Even so, he said I.B.M. is concerned that innovation could be choked by pat=
ent litigation and would like to see the system reformed.
Congress could step in, and there are patent reform bills in the House and =
the Senate, with many of the provisions aimed at reining in litigation and =
damage awards. But this marks the third consecutive year that Congress has =
considered patent reform, and there is enough opposition from large compani=
es to suggest that it will again have to wait until next year.
There are other paths to change: the United States Patent and Trademark Off=
ice could open patent applications to public comment, which could help pate=
nt examiners find applicable previous inventions. The office in June began =
a yearlong experiment allowing open comment on 250 patent applications (www=
.uspto.gov/web/offices/com/speeches/07-21.htm). The Web is already ahead of=
the patent office: a site called wikipatents
(www.wikipatents.com) has created an open comment process for several years=
=3D92 worth of patent applications.
ANOTHER might be to increase the number of appeals courts that handle paten=
t cases. Right now, there is only one, the United States Court of Appeals f=
or the Federal Circuit. The Supreme Court, meanwhile, may have helped the s=
ystem immensely with a ruling in June that should stiffen the standard of =
=3D93obviousness,=3D94 the key criterion in granting a patent. Tougher stan=
dards may weed out many bad patents and reduce litigation.
But technological inventions are often not obvious, especially when it come=
s to the esoteric world of software, where it can be unclear even to the in=
ventor what the patent will be good for.
Mr. Bessen, for one, is not optimistic. =3D93Things are going to get a lot =
worse before they get better for the technology industry,=3D94 he said. If =
he=3D92s correct, it will become harder to question his economic analysis o=
f the current patent system.
Michael Fitzgerald is a Boston-area writer on business, technology and cult=
ure. E-mail: mfitz@nytimes.com.
---------------------------------
Thiru Balasubramaniam
Geneva Representative
Knowledge Ecology International (KEI)
voice +41.22.791.6727
fax +41.22.723.2988
mobile +41 76 508 0997
thiru@keionline.org
--__--__--
Message: 4
Date: Mon, 23 Jul 2007 13:02:00 -0400
From: Mike Palmedo <mpalmedo@wcl.american.edu>
To: ip-health@lists.essential.org
Subject: [Ip-health] Penn State Study Urges 'Compensation-Based' Approach t=
o Drug Patent Compulsory Licensing
The author used to be a lawyer for Pfizer and BMS. Here's his bio: http://j=
ava.smeal.psu.edu/peopleSearch/displayBio/display.jsp?tUserID=3Ddrc13
-----------------------------------------
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2007-07/ps-suc071007.php
Contact: Wyatt DuBois
wdubois@psu.edu
814-863-3798
Penn State
Study urges compensation-based approach to drug patent compulsory licensing
A Penn State researcher argues that ambiguous international rules outlining=
when and how governments may "break" pharmaceutical patents may end up sig=
nificantly reducing incentives for innovation while at the same time failin=
g to increase access to medicines.
In a new paper "Confronting Myths and Myopia on the Road from Doha," Daniel=
Cahoy, associate professor of business law at Penn State's Smeal College o=
f Business, argues that the problem is a lack of clarity in compensation fo=
r patent owners. He suggests that a three-tiered approach to compulsory lic=
ense remuneration based on a country's individual ability to pay would do m=
uch to resolve the predicament.
Current international law "has few limitations on which countries can 'brea=
k' patents simply to control costs, what circumstances create a necessary c=
ondition, or even what level of remuneration is required," Cahoy writes. As=
a result, relatively wealthy nations may receive unintended windfalls whil=
e least developed countries may continue to struggle for access.
Under complex World Trade Organization rules, governments are permitted to =
issue patent compulsory licenses, which allow countries to manufacture chea=
per versions of patented pharmaceuticals for non-commercial use or in cases=
of health care emergencies. Just recently, Brazil and Thailand have invoke=
d these rules simply to lower the cost of expensive AIDS and heart medicati=
ons-a strategy that Cahoy argues should be more controlled. In his paper, C=
ahoy identifies three myths that have typically obscured workable remunerat=
ion rules:
Myth No. 1: Equitable compulsory licenses must offer savings from the marke=
t. Cahoy argues that it is possible for patent holders to be compensated at=
market prices even when compulsory licenses are invoked. At the very least=
, he writes, market compensation should be integrated into the debate.
Myth No. 2: Pharmaceutical companies should be indifferent to compulsory li=
censing so long as "reasonable" remuneration is available. Compulsory licen=
sing supporters say that pharmaceutical companies should be satisfied with =
payments that allow them to break even or turn a small profit, but Cahoy ar=
gues that the equity in such a payment scheme is far more elusive than many=
suggest.
Myth No. 3: Antitrust compulsory licenses provide a reliable royalty benchm=
ark. Cahoy argues that the low royalties attached to remedial compulsory li=
censes for antitrust violations should not be used to set remuneration leve=
ls in non-punitive cases in which the patentee has done nothing wrong.
Taking these myths into account, Cahoy's proposed licensing regime keeps in=
novation incentives intact, but also ensures that developing countries have=
access to pharmaceuticals.
During public health crises, he argues for a three-tiered arrangement, in w=
hich remuneration is based on the economic status of the country issuing th=
e compulsory license. Industrialized nations will be required to pay full m=
arket price, even during a pandemic. Developing countries would be allowed =
a limited free ride, with royalties based on the individual country's abili=
ty pay. Finally, the world's least developed countries would be granted the=
ability to issue royalty-free compulsory licenses during health emergencie=
s.
In cases outside of a public health crisis or antitrust violations, Cahoy's=
approach establishes full market compensation as the default policy for ev=
ery country. He also identifies the adoption of a national exhaustion rule,=
which would limit importation into non-licensing countries, and manufactur=
ing limits as important elements to any new compensation system.
But, regardless of the approach that is ultimately adopted, Cahoy argues th=
at "a revision of essential international law is required to both better en=
able access and shore up innovation incentives.
"Considering the problem in terms of remuneration rather than the legal rig=
ht to license, one can arrive at clearer, more equitable solutions," he con=
cludes.
###
Cahoy is a patent attorney licensed to practice before the U.S. Patent and =
Trademark Office and is admitted to the New York State Bar and several fede=
ral courts. He has published numerous articles in academic law journals on =
topics such as pharmaceutical importation and the optimal policy for reform=
ing the U.S. patent system, among others.
At Smeal, Cahoy specializes in the teaching and study of intellectual prope=
rty law, as well as related issues in technology law and general business l=
aw concepts.
"Confronting Myths and Myopia on the Road from Doha" is forthcoming in the =
Georgia Law Review. A draft is available online at http://ssrn.com/abstract=
=3D989817.
--
Mike Palmedo
Research Coordinator
Program on Information Justice and Intellectual Property American Universit=
y, Washington College of Law 4910 Massachutsetts Ave., NW Washington, DC 20=
016 T - 202-274-4442 | F 202-274-0659 mpalmedo@wcl.american.edu
--__--__--
Message: 5
From: Sheila.SHETTLE@geneva.msf.org
Date: Tue, 24 Jul 2007 09:18:05 +0200
To: undisclosed-recipients:;
Subject: [Ip-health] DPA, Nation: Thai activists attack drug ban
Thai activists attack drug ban
Sydney (dpa)
|------------------------------------------|
| |
|------------------------------------------|
Activists supporting HIV-positive people in Thailand demanded Tuesday at an=
international Aids conference in Australia that Abbott Laboratories stop b=
locking the distribution of critical Aids drugs.
Abbott and the Thai government have been embroiled in a long-standing battl=
e over the costs of antiretroviral treatment, which enable those with HIV/A=
ids to live longer and more effective lives.
Thai activists claimed Abbott was blocking the distribution of Aluvia, a se=
cond-line drug crucial for those already developing resistance to first-gen=
eration treatment.
Aluvia is the only drug of its kind in the developing world, and is both he=
at resistant and food-independent. It can be stored without refrigeration a=
nd doesn't need to be taken with food, an important feature in poverty-stri=
cken countries.
"For Thai people with resistant HIV, access to Aluvia is not a luxury. It i=
s vital," said Kannikar Kijtiwatchakul of the Thai Network of People Living=
with HIV/Aids and also a campaigner for medical humanitarian organisation =
Medecins Sans Frontieres.
At the end of Tuesday's morning plenary attended by thousands of people, Ka=
nnikar appealed to scientists, researchers and politicians at the 4th Inter=
national Aids Society Conference on Pathogenesis, Treatment and Prevention =
to sign a petition and support the cause of positive Thai people.
Thailand has approximately 500,000 people living with HIV/Aids, of whom 80,=
000 are on antiretroviral therapy. Of these, 8,000 have developed resistanc=
e to the toxic drugs and need to be put on second-line therapy, Kannikar sa=
id.
The cost of these drugs is becoming a major issue in the capacity of Aids-a=
ffected countries to deliver widespread and equitable treatment and care.
After several failed negotiations with Abbott since 2005, Thailand issued a=
compulsory license in January to overcome a patent barrier on second-line =
drug Lopinavir/Ritonavir. This enabled the country to either legally import=
it or produce it locally.
This was in keeping with World Bank recommendations that Thailand procure c=
heaper, generic versions of Lopinavir, activists said.
"In February, Abbott announced that unless the Thai government grants it an=
absolute monopoly on sales of Lopinavir, without any generic competition, =
then it would effect a blockade of Aluvia against all Thai Aids patients," =
Kannikar said.
Earlier, on Sunday, Abbott CEO Jean-Yves Pavee met with HIV activists from =
Thailand and HIV-positive group, Act-Up Paris. While it dropped a lawsuit a=
gainst Act-Up for an attack on the Abbott website, the blockade against Alu=
via continues.
"I'm living with HIV, and a few years ago an HIV drug by Abbott saved my li=
fe," Act-Up president Hugues Fischer said after the meeting. "From my point=
of view, for Abbott to be deliberately preventing the Thais from procuring=
a lifesaving HIV medicine is tantamount to murder."
According to an MSF report released Monday, entitled "Untangling the Web of=
Price Reductions," there have been dramatic price reductions for second-li=
ne drugs over the past year - largely a result of the compulsory license is=
sued by Thailand.
The costs plummeted from $2,800 to $695 per year.
"But this is still far too expensive for the majority of people in Thailand=
, where the average annual salary is $1,600 per year," Kannikar said earlie=
r.
hailand is often upheld as a model of HIV treatment across the developing w=
orld, with its early campaigns for universal access to treatment, while sim=
ultaneously rolling out massive education and prevention programmes.
The Sydney Aids conference, which opened Sunday, features the latest develo=
pments in biomedical prevention, treatment and clinical practice.
Abbott's move fails to appease activists
The decision of Abbott Laboratories to drop a lawsuit against a group of Fr=
ench HIV/Aids activists has not appeased the international lobby.
Published on July 24, 2007
It has vowed to continue battling the pharmaceutical giant until it lifts a=
blockade of HIV medication in Thailand.
"We are going to continue fighting and there might be more lawsuits to come=
because the reason people living with HIV/Aids are being threatened by Abb=
ott in the first place has not been addressed. We need to continue to addre=
ss the problem," said Nathan Ford, a drug-access campaigner with Medecins S=
ans Frontieres.
The company decided on Sunday to drop its case after chief executive Jean-Y=
ves Pavee met with ACT UP Paris and the Thai Network of People Living with =
HIV.
The meeting was arranged by the International Aids Society and took place h=
ere where the Third Ministerial Meeting on HIV/Aids is going on.
However, Khalil Elouardighi, of ACT UP Paris, said the company's decision c=
ame from nowhere; no one asked the company to drop the litigation.
"What we wanted to talk to the company about was its withdrawal of Aluvia f=
rom Thailand, not the litigation facing us. The company did not have time t=
o talk to us about our issue," he said.
Aluvia is the heat-stable version of a life-saving medication made by Abbot=
t.
For activists like Ford, Elouardighi and others, including Wirat Purahong o=
f the network, a lawsuit against people with HIV is minor compared with ens=
uring these people have access to life-saving medicine.
"Access to Aluvia for Thai Aids patients is a thousand times more important=
than access to Abbott's corporate website," said Wirat.
Abbott sued ACT UP Paris on May 23 in response to the group's attack on the=
company's website. The so-called "net-strike", initiated by ACT UP Paris, =
occurred worldwide on April 26 by activists protesting the company's withdr=
awal of Aluvia from registration in Thailand.
Abbott withdrew the drug early this year in retaliation for the government'=
s imposition of compulsory licensing which allows it, via World Trade Organ=
isation rules, to purchase or manufacture cheaper, generic versions of Kale=
tra, an HIV treatment made by Abbott.
Medecins Sans Frontieres yesterday issued a new report about worldwide drug=
prices for HIV medication. It found compulsory licences issued by Thailand=
had stimulated dramatic price reductions for second-line anti-retroviral t=
reatments internationally.
Pennapa Hongthong
The Nation
+++++++++++++++++++++
Sheila Shettle
Senior Communications Officer
M=3DE9decins Sans Fronti=3DE8res
Campaign for Access to Essential Medicines
Rue de Lausanne 78
1211 Geneva, Switzerland
+ 41.22.849.8403
+ 41.79.293.0270 (m.)
www.accessmed-msf.org
+++++++++++++++++++++++
SIGN MSF'S 'DROP THE CASE' PETITION
Millions of people around the world today rely on affordable medicines prod=
uced in India. Pharmaceutical company Novartis is taking the Indian govern=
ment to court to force a change in the country's patent law. If Novartis w=
ins, a major source of affordable medicines for millions of people across t=
he globe could dry up.
MSF is urging Novartis to DROP THE CASE.
Find out more and sign up to our petition: http://www.msf.org/petition_indi=
a/international.html
--__--__--
Message: 6
Date: Mon, 23 Jul 2007 10:21:33 -0400
From: "Philip Coticelli" <pcoticelli@fightingmalaria.org>
To: <ip-health@lists.essential.org>
Subject: [Ip-health] Clinton Foundation subsidizes malaria drugs in Africa
This is a multi-part message in MIME format.
--
[ Picked text/plain from multipart/alternative ]
Does anyone have more information on this initiative?
http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?type=3D3DhealthNews&storyID=
=3D3D=3D
2007-07-22T112544Z_01_L22388983_RTRUKOC_0_US-MALARIA-CLINTON.xml&pageNumber=
=3D
=3D3D0&imageid=3D3D&cap=3D3D&sz=3D3D13&WTModLoc=3D3DNewsArt-C1-ArticlePage2
Clinton pilots subsidized malaria drugs in Africa
Sun Jul 22, 2007 7:25am ET
By Ben Hirschler
LONDON (Reuters) - Former U.S. President Bill Clinton is launching a progra=
=3D m to make subsidized malaria drugs available in Tanzania in a test sche=
me tha=3D t could serve as a blueprint for Africa as a whole.
The project, to be announced later on Sunday in Dar es Salaam, will make li=
fe-saving ACT drugs available at 90 percent less than the current market pr=
ice to a national drug wholesaler, which will then distribute them to rural=
shops.
Malaria, caused by a parasite carried by mosquitoes, kills up to 3 million =
people a year worldwide and makes 300 million seriously ill. Ninety percent=
of deaths are in Africa south of the Sahara, mostly among young children.
Many of those lives could be saved with modern artemisinin combination ther=
apy (ACT) drugs, which are far more effective than older treatments suc=3D =
h as chloroquine. But a price of up to $8 to $10 per treatment puts them ou=
t of reach for many people.
Although drugmakers including Novartis and Sanofi-Aventis SA have reduced t=
he cost of ACT medicines to around $1 when they are used in the public sect=
or, the majority of Africans buy their medicine privately.
In the case of Tanzania, around half of patients with malaria seek treatmen=
=3D t through private drug shops instead of public health facilities, and m=
ost ar=3D e unable to afford ACTs. Instead, they usually buy older drugs th=
at are 20 to 30 times cheaper but are often ineffective due to drug resista=
nce.
The pilot programme by the Clinton Foundation HIV/AIDS Initiative is design=
ed to test the practicality of subsidizing ACT drugs as a way to increase t=
heir use, a foundation spokesman said.
ACT treatments are derived from a medicinal Chinese plant and are costly to=
manufacture.
International organizations and governments, including those form the Nethe=
rlands and Britain, are currently considering a multimillion-dollar global =
subsidy plan for ACT medicines.
Awa Marie Coll-Seck, executive director of the U.N.-backed Roll Back Malari=
=3D a Partnership, told reporters in London earlier this year she hoped a $=
300 million global scheme could be introduced as early as 2008.
Clinton, who is on a four-nation African tour of South Africa, Malawi, Zamb=
ia and Tanzania, met Zambian President Levy Mwanawasa on Saturday.
He said his foundation would provide support for skills training for medica=
=3D l personnel in that country to honor Zambia for its impressive AIDS fig=
ht.
The former U.S president said his Clinton Foundation and UNITAIDS, a global=
anti-AIDS group, had agreed a deal with pharmaceutical firms to reduce pri=
ces of anti-retroviral drugs (ARVs) for poorer nations.
Prices of ARVs for poor nations will be in the region of $25 to $60 per per=
son per year from about $200 per annually.
In Malawi, Clinton inspected a $70 million modern 80-bed hospital under con=
struction in Neno, one the country's poorest districts 75 miles south of th=
e commercial city of Blantyre.
The hospital will completed in March next year and Clinton promised to offi=
cially open it.
--
--__--__--
Message: 7
To: ip-health@lists.essential.org
From: Alexandra HEUMBER <Alexandra.HEUMBER@brussels.msf.org>
Date: Mon, 23 Jul 2007 14:34:26 +0200
Subject: [Ip-health] MSFon WTO receives first notification under 'paragraph=
6' system
This is a multipart message in MIME format.
--
[ Picked text/plain from multipart/alternative ]
Dear all,
Here a brief message about MSF's experience on trying to use the August 30 =
mechanism in Canada with Apotex between 2004 until recently, without a sing=
le drug have been exported at the end. We would like to draw your attention=
on our report that describes the procedure.
The Apotex drug exists and is for real. Here is a bit of a history. When Ca=
nada indicated to want to implement the August 30 decision (Paragraph 6 of =
the Doha Declaration on TRIPs and Public Health), MSF committed to placing =
an order. We worked with the company on the specifications of the drug. At =
that time this particular combination did not exist in FDC.
However it turned out to be very difficult to effectuate the order. See for=
details http://www.accessmed-msf.org/documents/WTOaugustreport.pdf.
In particular countries we worked in were concerned about having to notify =
the WTO. We are used to a situation were we have to import drugs and requir=
e authorisation to do so, but used to only have to deal with the health aut=
horities to obtain authorisation. In this case the trade officials need to =
get involved and this creates problems because countries fear retaliation (=
not unjustified if we look at Thailand and Brazil).
In the mean time Indian producers made the same FDC (none of the components=
are patented in India so August 30/paragraph 6 is not required to import f=
rom India).
As NGO it proved not possible to make use of this mechanism despite a huge =
investment to make it work. We are now buying the same FDC from India which=
has been available in May 2006 (WHO Prequalification). But we are pleased =
that Rwanda is benefiting from the Apotex triple FDC.
With best regards,
Alexandra Heumber
EU Advocacy Liaison Officer
M=3DE9decins Sans Fronti=3DE8res
Access to Essential Medicines Campaign
Rue Dupr=3DE9, 94. 1090 Brussels
++32 (0) 2 474 75 09 (Dir off)
++ 32 (0) 479 514 900 (Mob)
++ 32 (0) 2 474 75 75 (Fax)
--__--__--
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