[Ip-health] Business Groups seek to engage new Thai Ministry on Compulsory Licensing

[Sarah Rimmington]

BNA WTO Reporter
No. 33
Wednesday February 20, 2008 Page A-11
ISSN 1523-567X
Regulation & Law

Intellectual Property
Business Groups Seek to Engage
New Thai Ministry on Compulsory Licensing

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is speaking with the new government in
Thailand to find ways to resolve compulsory license disputes with
pharmaceutical companies over various drugs, Murray Hiebert, senior
director Southeast Asia for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, said at a Feb.
19 press conference.

He said the Chamber of Commerce was seeking to engage early with the new
Thai government on respecting intellectual property rights, including
patented medicines.

The Chamber of Commerce is seeking to stop the inappropriate use of
compulsory licensing as a means of negotiating with pharmaceutical
companies--the government takes the property and then talks to the
pharmaceutical company about pricing, David C. Chavern, executive vice
president of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce said.

He said there needed to be a legitimate dialogue about pricing, but not
theft of intellectual property rights with discussion after the fact.

In 2006, the Health Ministry of the Thai government issued compulsory
licenses for two AIDS drug treatments, claiming the ability to issue the
licenses under an exception to the World Trade Organization's
Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (or TRIPS)
agreement for national health emergencies.

The Chamber of Commerce is encouraged by actions taken by Thailand's new
health minister, Chaiya Sasomsap, Hiebert said. Sasomsap announced in
February that the Thai government would have internal consultations on
existing compulsory drug licensing policies, and particularly on the
compulsory licenses granted to four cancer-related drugs issued by the
outgoing Thai health minister, Mongkol na Songkhla, before his leaving
office.

Hiebert said that those internal government consultations had started
last week. He also said a delegation of U.S. companies would be going to
Thailand in late March or early April, with the compulsory licensing
issue at the top of the delegation's agenda.


Pricing, Access to Health Care

"Those who believe that by stealing IP, you make progress on access to
medicine are shortsighted," David Hirschmann, senior vice president of
the Chamber of Commerce said. He said that the issue of health care
access was broader than simply the pricing of drugs.
The Chamber of Commerce seeks to protect innovation through intellectual
property rights protect and also improve access to health care and
drugs, pointing to a campaign by the U.S.-India Business Council to
improve access to health care, the Coalition for a Healthy India,
Hirschmann said. He said the Chamber would soon be launching a similar
health initiative in Brazil.

Some of the issues in Thailand result from the amount of money spent by
the Thai government on health care, Hirschmann said. He noted that only
3.3 percent of Thai gross domestic product was spent on health care,
compared to surrounding countries such as Vietnam and China and that
tariffs on imported drugs into Thailand was generally between 12 and 15
percent.

The Chamber of Commerce is hosting a forum on intellectual property
rights protection in Mumbai, India, Feb. 26-27.



--
Sarah Rimmington
Attorney
Essential Action, Access to Medicines Project
Washington, DC
Tel: (202) 387-8030
Cell: (202) 422-2687
www.essentialaction.org/access/