[Ip-health] Compulsory Licences could save 1Bln baht

[Sarah Rimmington]

Bangkok Post
March 4, 2007

http://www.bangkokpost.com/breaking_news/breakingnews.php?id=3D117204

Compulsory licences 'save 1 bln baht'

The decision by the Public Health Ministry to issue compulsory licences
for two HIV-AIDS pharmaceutical treatments and a heart disease drug is
able to help low-income patients to gain access to quality drugs, while
the national economy is able to benefit by more than 1 billion baht
yearly in savings from imports, a senior ministry official said.

Dr. Sanguan Nitayarumphong, secretary general of the National Health
Security Office (NHSO), said compulsory licences for the heart disease
drug Plavix, made by Bristol-Myers Squibb and Sanofi-Aventis, and Abbott
Laboratories' Kaletra to treat HIV/AIDS, both issued by the ministry in
January, and another drug for treating HIV-AIDS, Efavirenz, manufactured
by Merck and which was given a mandatory licence in Thailand last
November, could help save Thailand in foreign exchange of not less than
1 billion baht
annually.

Most importantly, it allows poor people suffering from these diseases to
have access to the medicines as they are now becoming less expensive and
hence have a better quality of life, said Dr. Sanguan.

For example, the price of Efavirenz is cheaper by about half the cost of
the imported pharmaceutical, while Kaletra is about 40 per cent cheaper
and could as a result now treat some 12,000 patients this year, up from
8,000 patients estimated earlier, he said.

In addition, the price of Plavix is about six times cheaper than the
imported, patented drug.

The compulsory licences which Thai health officials said earlier would
spare the country from significant foreign exchange costs drew praise
from AIDS activists but flak from the United States government and the
drug industry, which are urging the ministry to rescind them.

The three foreign pharmaceutical companies complained they were caught
by surprise as the government overruled their patent rights without
prior consultation or negotiation =96 a point strongly denied by public
health officials who claimed they have held repeated talks with the
patent holders over pricing, but without real progress.

In contrast, the compulsory licensing in November has allowed the
state-owned Government Pharmaceutical Organization to build up stocks of
imported generic versions of AIDS medication Efavirenz =96 about 16,000
bottles so far. (TNA)

--
Sarah Rimmington
Project Attorney
Essential Action, Access to Medicines Project
Washington, DC
Office: (202) 387-8030 x34
Mobile: (202) 422-2687