[Ip-health] Wall Street Journal editorial: The Thai Flu

Wed Mar 14 03:09:20 2007

<SNIP>

And, incredibly, he and Thailand's Minister for Public Health, Dr.
Mongkol na Songkhla, have found supporters in high places in
international health organizations. Peter Piot, head of the United
Nations joint program on HIV/AIDS, wrote in a December 26 letter to the
Minister that Bangkok's decision to retract Merck's HIV/AIDS drug
patent was "a good example" of the country's commitment to "provide
access" to antiretrovirals and lower the cost of the drugs.

After an initial burst of common sense, even the WHO is now supporting
Bangkok's theft. Director-General Margaret Chan, whom these pages
praised in January for criticizing Thailand's IP abuse, retracted her
statement in a conciliatory letter to the Thai government shortly
thereafter. "I deeply regret that my comments . . . may have caused
embarrassment to the government of Thailand," she wrote. "They should
not be taken as a criticism of the decision of the Royal Thai
government to issue compulsory licenses, which is entirely the
prerogative of the government."

<SNIP>

The WHO's executive board next meets in May. Unless Dr. Chan and other
officials start publicly supporting intellectual property rights,
there's a good chance Thailand's actions will be replicated elsewhere.
That's bad news for pharmaceutical companies -- and for everyone who
cares about drug innovation and public health.

-----------

http://online.wsj.com/article_print/SB117383849743936353.html

The Thai Flu
March 14, 2007; Page A14

If you care about property rights -- or access to new medicine for the
world's poor -- keep your eye on the current fight over Thailand's
attempt to confiscate drug patents. The brawl is getting messier by the
day.

In the latest news, the Journal reports that Abbott Laboratories has
decided not to market any new medicines in Thailand. Abbott will
continue to sell drugs currently on sale in the country, but it has
withdrawn its applications for other drugs under government review.

This is a big decision for any company, because it means forfeiting a
large market and risking some negative publicity. But it is also an
entirely rational business decision, after Thailand's military
government decided to revoke Abbott's patent for its new blockbuster
AIDS drug. In January, Thailand's Ministry of Public Health announced
it would issue "compulsory licenses" for medications produced by Abbott
and Sanofi-Aventis -- meaning that Thailand will eventually produce
generic copies of these drugs. This followed a similar move against
Merck in November.

Thai patients will be the losers, at least in the short term, though
that is entirely the fault of the Thai government. In the long run,
Abbott's withdrawal may have a salutary impact if it demonstrates to
Thai officials and other governments that they will pay a price for
stealing intellectual property. Drug patents are a globally recognized
way to guarantee a return on investment in producing new therapies, and
there will be no incentive to innovate if governments can revoke
patents with impunity.

Meanwhile, the U.S. government is getting into the mix, albeit a tad
late. HHS Secretary Michael Leavitt has finally summoned the energy to
lodge a formal protest with Bangkok over remarks by one of its
officials that Thailand will arrest foreign nationals in the event of
an influenza outbreak. At a January meeting of the executive board of
the World Health Organization, Thai representative Dr. Suwit
Wibulpolprasert proposed holding Western tourists hostage until Bangkok
received flu vaccines.

In a March 7 letter, Mr. Leavitt said Dr. Suwit's comments "appear to
contravene the spirit and provisions of the revised International
Health Regulations" for how countries cooperate to curb the global
spread of disease. Hostage-taking is not among the preferred medical
treatments for the flu. Would-be kidnapper Dr. Suwit was also an
important voice advocating seizure of the drug patents.

And, incredibly, he and Thailand's Minister for Public Health, Dr.
Mongkol na Songkhla, have found supporters in high places in
international health organizations. Peter Piot, head of the United
Nations joint program on HIV/AIDS, wrote in a December 26 letter to the
Minister that Bangkok's decision to retract Merck's HIV/AIDS drug
patent was "a good example" of the country's commitment to "provide
access" to antiretrovirals and lower the cost of the drugs.

After an initial burst of common sense, even the WHO is now supporting
Bangkok's theft. Director-General Margaret Chan, whom these pages
praised in January for criticizing Thailand's IP abuse, retracted her
statement in a conciliatory letter to the Thai government shortly
thereafter. "I deeply regret that my comments . . . may have caused
embarrassment to the government of Thailand," she wrote. "They should
not be taken as a criticism of the decision of the Royal Thai
government to issue compulsory licenses, which is entirely the
prerogative of the government."

In seizing the patents, Thailand is taking advantage of vague language
in a World Trade Organization agreement on intellectual property rights
permitting compulsory licensing in a time of "national emergency" or
for "public non-commercial use." There's no such emergency in this
case. And in any case, Thailand hasn't bothered to lift the taxes
levied on drug imports or address the often double-digit markups on
drugs as they wend their way through the domestic delivery system. It's
even possible that Bangkok is considering seizing the patents,
producing drugs at home, and turning its state-owned pharmaceutical
monopoly into a regional drug store.

The WHO's executive board next meets in May. Unless Dr. Chan and other
officials start publicly supporting intellectual property rights,
there's a good chance Thailand's actions will be replicated elsewhere.
That's bad news for pharmaceutical companies -- and for everyone who
cares about drug innovation and public health.

   	URL for this article:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB117383849743936353.html

---------------------------------
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