[Ip-health] BBC: Brazil to break Aids drug patent

Mon May 7 09:00:20 2007

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/6626073.stm

Brazil to break Aids drug patent
Brazil's president has authorised the country to bypass the patent on
an Aids drug manufactured by Merck, a US pharmaceutical giant.

The country will import a cheaper, generic Indian-made version of the
patented Efavirenz drug.

The decision came after talks between Brazil and the US company broke
down.

Merck had offered Brazil a 30% discount on the cost of the drugs but
the country wanted to pay the same price as Thailand, which gets a
larger discount.

Small royalty

Merck offered Brazil almost a third off the cost - pricing the pills at
$1.10 (=A30.55) instead of $1.59.

But Brazil wanted its discount pegged at same level as Thailand, which
pays just $0.65 per pill.

Now, though, it will source Indian-made versions of Efavirenz for just
$0.45 each.

"From an ethical point of view the price difference is grotesque," said
President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

"And from a political point of view, it represents a lack of respect,
as though a sick Brazilian is inferior," he added.

He said that the compulsory licensing of Efavirenz was a legitimate and
necessary measure to guarantee that all patients had access to the
drug.

Brazil's decision means that Merck, which holds the patent for the
drugs, will only get a small royalty for the generic versions of the
drugs purchased. Under Brazilian law and rules established by the World
Health Organisation, such a licence can be granted in a health
emergency or if the pharmaceutical industry abuses its pricing.

'Advancing access'

Some 75,000 Brazilians use Efavirenz, out of a total of 180,000 people
who receive free antiretroviral drugs from the government.

Aids activists in the country welcomed the decision.

"This is certainly an important advance in terms of widening access. We
are very happy that Brazil is moving in the right direction," said
Michel Lotrowska of NGO Medecins Sans Frontieres.

Thailand's decision to break Merck's Efavirenz patent, as well as drugs
produced by two other firms, led to the country being placed on a US
list of copyright violators.

The company said that Brazil's decision could discourage pharmaceutical
firms from investing in treatments for illnesses prevalent in the
developing world.

Brazil's move, Merck said, sent "a chilling signal to research-based
companies about the attractiveness of undertaking risky research on
diseases that affect the developing world."

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/americas/6626073.stm

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