[Ip-health] Thai HIV/AIDS Advocates to Ask Admin Court for Review of Abbott Decision

[Sarah Rimmington]

http://www.kaisernetwork.org/daily_reports/print_report.cfm?DR_ID=49930&dr_cat=1

Kaiser Daily HIV/AIDS Report

Tuesday, January 22, 2008

Drug Access

      Thai HIV/AIDS Advocates To Ask Administrative Court for Review of
Ruling That Found Abbott Did Not Violate Trade Laws

      HIV/AIDS advocates in Thailand plan to ask the country's
Administrative Court to evaluate an Internal Trade Department's decision
to not file suit against Abbott Laboratories for allegedly violating
trade laws when the company canceled the registration of its
antiretroviral Aluvia with the country's Food and Drug Administration,
the Bangkok Post reports (Apiradee, Bangkok Post, 1/18).

The Thai government in January 2007 issued a compulsory license to
produce a lower-cost version of Abbott's antiretroviral Kaletra. The
drug company in May 2007 offered to sell Aluvia, an updated version of
Kaletra, at a reduced price in Thailand on the condition that the
country agree not to allow generic versions of the drug into the market,
Siriwat Thiptaradol, secretary-general of the Thai FDA, said. The Thai
Ministry of Public Health in June 2007 confirmed that it would continue
with its plan to issue a compulsory license for the drug after Abbott
and the health ministry could not reach a price agreement during
negotiations. Thailand's FDA in October 2007 completed the registration
of a generic version of Aluvia for use under the country's compulsory
licensing program. The generic version is manufactured by the Indian
generic pharmaceutical company Matrix Laboratories (Kaiser Daily
HIV/AIDS Report, 10/17/07).

According to HIV/AIDS advocates, Abbott canceled registration of Aluvia
in Thailand after the government issued a compulsory license for the
drug. Advocates have said the move violated section 25 of the country's
Trade Competition Act, which stipulates restrictions against a product
being dominant in the market. In addition, the advocates said that the
canceled registration violated section 28 of the trade act, which places
controls on parent companies' influence on subsidiaries' decisions, the
Post reports.

Advocates later petitioned a trade competition panel at the Ministry of
Commerce to look into the matter. The panel in late December 2007 ruled
that Abbott's withdrawal of Aluvia's registration did not violate trade
regulations. Panel secretary Yanyong Phuangrach said the body determined
the market value of Aluvia was too small to dominant the market and thus
did not violate trade law.

Saree Ongsomwang -- manager of the Foundation for Consumers, which
petitioned the ministry panel to examine the issue -- said advocates
would ask the Administrative Court to review the panel's decision. Nimit
Tienudom, chair of the AIDS Access Foundation, petitioned the panel to
reveal additional details about its decision. He also proposed that a
new panel of neutral academics be convened to examine the issue. Saree
said she was "surprised by the panel's decision," adding, "They should
have prioritized health problems caused by HIV/AIDS and consider
essential lifesaving drugs as a special case rather than protecting the
benefits of big pharmaceutical business" (Bangkok Post, 1/18).

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