[Ip-health] Abbott criticized; silent on Thailand

[ben.krohmal@keionline.org]

http://nationmultimedia.com/2007/03/25/national/national_30030166.php
The Nation
March 25, 2007

Abbot takes a tranquilliser,tells Thais: 'Talk to my boss'

Abbott Laboratories is declining requests for comments on the boycott of
its products launched in Thailand last Monday - and the actions that led
to it - although a US official lobbying on behalf of the drug maker here
has derided the boycott.

"If Thailand is leading the global crusade, I don't put a lot of stock in
its success," quipped the US official, who asked not to be named.

Abbott's office in Bangkok is forwarding all media requests to its
headquarters in Chicago.

Communications staff there, however, are not allowed to answer questions.
They have been instructed to telephone journalists who request information
from their Bangkok office and read two sentences over the phone.

"You have to quote me exactly," Dirk Van Eeden, a communications director
for Abbott International, said before reading the statement: "Thailand has
chosen to break patents on numerous medicines, ignoring the patent system.
As such, we've elected not to introduce new medicines there."

He said he could not explain how Thailand had ignored the patent system or
provide information because of the "particularly sensitive" situation
Abbott was in.

He did not explain why his colleagues in Bangkok were not permitted to
read the sentences.

An Abbott communications officer in Bangkok said she could not answer
questions "in case she made a mistake".

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Public Health has released a 96-page document
explaining its position on the issue, including the legality of its move
under global trade rules and the numerous precedents it had followed.

The document includes letters of support from the Clinton Foundation,
UNAids, 22 US Senators and the World Health Organisation, among others.

In January the ministry used a mechanism provided by global trade rules to
override a patent on an HIV/Aids drug produced by Abbott so that it could
import or produce a generic version to those who could not afford the
patented one.

This will save 8,000 Thai lives, the ministry said.

Spending on HIV/Aids medications in Thailand has surged tenfold over the
past six years. Thailand's effort to provide universal access to the drugs
is not sustainable and the country needs greater access to generic
versions, studies by Thai and international agencies show.

Thailand began issuing so-called "compulsory licences" on life-saving
medications in November last year, following a seven-year lobbying effort
by local and international non-government organisations.

The mechanism is enshrined in global trade rules and has frequently been
used by

other countries. Abbott faced a similar dispute with Brazil over a threat
to use a compulsory licence for the same life-saving drug there.

Meanwhile, the company is now facing criticism from a coalition of
Christian shareholders who say its decision to retaliate against Thailand
over the patent dispute could damage the value of its stock as well as the
image of its brand.

Abbott's decision not to introduce new medicines in Thailand has been
denounced by medical associations as a violation of medical ethics.