[Ip-health] MSF's response to WSJ Editorial on March 7, 2007

[Buddhima Lokuge]

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FYI. MSF's response to the Wall Street Journal editorial on March 7, 2007=
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is attached. It was not accepted by the paper for publication.=0D
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For the editorial see:=0D
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB117322181443628799.html?mod=3Dopinion=0D
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TO THE EDITOR OF THE WALL STREET JOURNAL=0D
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For the Wall Street Journal (Bangkok=E2=80=99s Drug War Goes Global, March =
7, 2007)=0D
to assert that by issuing compulsory licenses on AIDS and heart medicines,=
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Thailand is committing a =E2=80=9Cseizure of foreign drug patents=E2=80=9D =
is inaccurate=0D
and misleading. And, calling those who support a country=E2=80=99s right to=
 utilize=0D
the TRIPS agreement to promote access to medicines, as supported by the=0D
2001 WTO Doha Declaration on TRIPS and Public Health, as =E2=80=9Danti-pate=
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hooligans=E2=80=9D is blatantly offensive.=0D
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The Wall Street Journal editors state that they are =E2=80=9Cnot lawyers,=
=E2=80=9D yet they=0D
feel medically qualified enough to claim that Thailand =E2=80=9Cdoes not ha=
ve an=0D
HIV/AIDS epidemic=E2=80=9D and suggest that the country has no right to tak=
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actions =E2=80=93 perfectly legal under international rules governing the=
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management of patents on medicines =E2=80=93 to provide medicines to its pe=
ople.=0D
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In issuing a compulsory license, Thailand is heeding the advice of the=0D
World Bank and others to utilize WTO rules to produce less-expensive=0D
generic medicines in order to provide HIV/AIDS treatment to the estimated=
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200,000 people in the country =E2=80=93 a place where we have firsthand exp=
erience=0D
=E2=80=93 who need it.  AIDS treatment costs are on the rise with second-li=
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anti-retroviral medicines costing at best 5 times the price of the current=
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first-line treatments and, in countries like Thailand, as much as 22 times!=
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The WTO rules are extremely clear. Countries can determine the grounds for=
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issuing a compulsory license. It is a common misunderstanding perpetuated=
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by editorials like yours that they can only be used in the case of an=0D
emergency.=0D
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The rules also state that prior negotiations with the patent holder are=0D
waived if a compulsory license is granted for non-commercial use =E2=80=93 =
as is=0D
the case in Thailand =E2=80=93 in case of national emergency or other cases=
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extreme urgency or to remedy anti-competitive practices, something your=0D
editorial chooses to ignore.=0D
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Next, saying that =E2=80=9Cno serious government has contemplated using com=
pulsory=0D
licensing, even if it is allowed under WTO rules,=E2=80=9D you have overloo=
ked the=0D
five compulsory licenses issued by the United States since June 2006, for=
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applications as diverse as the automobile industry, satellite TV, computer=
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software, or indeed medical devices.=0D
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Pharmaceutical research and development is costly, and somebody does need=
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to pay.  But in today=E2=80=99s system that person is the patient =E2=80=93=
 if you can=E2=80=99t=0D
come up with the cash, the drugs you need are not developed and you will=0D
not get treated. Relying on patents does not foster the necessary research=
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to address the needs of billions of people in developing countries, as the=
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authoritative CIPIH report of the WHO recently proved.=0D
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We must find new ways to stimulate pharmaceutical innovation based on the=
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real health needs and access to new products for all who need them. But we=
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will never achieve this by vilifying those who are fighting for this or=0D
perpetuating falsehoods about international trade agreements as the Wall=0D
Street Journal has chosen to do.=0D
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Christophe Fournier, MD, International President=0D
Ellen =E2=80=98t Hoen, LLM, Director of Policy and Advocacy, Campaign for A=
ccess to=0D
Essential Medicines=0D
Medecins Sans Frontieres/Doctors Without Borders (MSF)=0D
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CONTACT:=0D
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Jason Cone, Doctors Without Borders, 1-646-206-1343