[Ip-health] RE: Ip-health digest, Vol 1 #2785 - 1 msg

Tue Feb 3 11:30:22 2009

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[ Picked text/plain from multipart/alternative ]
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Signatures in support of Korea compulsory license request for Enfuvirtide (=
Fuzeon)=0D
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On December 23, Korea Patient Groups and NGOs filed requests for compulsory=
 license in AIDS drug Enfuvirtide (Fuzeon) with the Korean government. It c=
omes after the Global Action Week against Roche ((between the 1st and the 7=
th of October) to denounce Roche=E2=80=99s infamy. Activists all around the=
 world asked Roche renounce to its patent on Fuzeon since it refuses make i=
t available for everyone. However, to date, Roche has not responded to our =
request.=0D
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Roche, a multi-national pharmaceutical corporation, acquired the license to=
 launch Fuzeon in 2004. However, South Korean people with HIV/AIDS have nev=
er seen this drug in the last 4 years. This was due to a strong =E2=80=98wi=
ll=E2=80=99 of Roche requesting the South Korean Government accept the pric=
e of 22 million KRW (roughly 22,000 USD) per year. The company has been wit=
hholding the distribution of the drug for the last 4 years. The exclusive r=
ight of patent protection, owned by Roche, guarantees that the company=E2=
=80=99s murderous will is observed in South Korea.=0D
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The South Korean Ministry of Health, Welfare, and Family promised the AIDS =
patients that they will make use of all formal and informal means to pressu=
re Roche to provide Fuzeon to the South Korean market. The unfortunate trut=
h is that there is no such means the Government can employ to counter pharm=
aceutical companies=E2=80=99 murders by patents. In the current system wher=
e the exclusive patent right equals the =E2=80=98license to kill,=E2=80=99 =
the only tool governments have is the compulsory licensing of the patent. T=
his is why even the World Trade Organization (WTO) acknowledges the compuls=
ory licensing as a very important part of the international intellectual pr=
operty agreement for ensuring patients=E2=80=99 access to life-saving medic=
ines.=0D
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The TRIPS Agreement, the intellectual property agreement of the WTO, specif=
ies that member countries can compulsorily license the use of patents to pr=
otect public health and nutrition and to facilitate the public interest in =
extremely important areas of socio-economic and technological advancement. =
Articles 106  of the South Korean patent law also specifies that to be used=
 in a national emergency such as a war and for the non-commercial use of th=
e patent for the public interest, the government or the third party can be =
licensed to use the patent. The article 107 of the South Korean patent law =
indicates when the use of the patent is particularly necessary for the =E2=
=80=98public interest,=E2=80=99 a compulsory license can be granted.=0D
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Despite this, the South Korean Government has kept an extremely passive pos=
ition as to the issue of compulsory licenses due to the fear of trade dispu=
tes. A well-known example is the rejection of the compulsory license of Gli=
vec, an anti-leukemic drug, in 2002. However, the Doha Declaration on the T=
RIPS Agreement and Public Health, adopted in November 2001, clearly indicat=
ed that (1) =E2=80=9Cthe TRIPS Agreement does not and should not prevent Me=
mbers from taking measures to protect public health=E2=80=9D and that (2) =
=E2=80=9Cthe Agreement can and should be interpreted and implemented in a m=
anner supportive of WTO Members=E2=80=99 right to protect public health and=
, in particular, to promote access to medicines for all.=E2=80=9D=0D
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Despite the existence of the international declaration that supports the co=
mpulsory license, if the South Korean Government does not grant a compulsor=
y license for a clearly non-working life-saving patent, it is only evading =
its responsibility for the protection of its citizens=E2=80=99 rights to he=
alth as well as life.=0D
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The compulsory license is not an impudent practice that aims to destroy int=
ellectual property rights and patent system at once. The institution of pat=
ent protection originated not only to protect the private interest of the p=
atent holder but also to promote public interest by technological developme=
nt based on the disclosure of innovations. When the patent right threatens =
the public welfare against its fundamental objective, it is only natural to=
 use compulsory license to regulate it.=0D
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Multinational pharmaceutical companies and their astronomical drug prices a=
re harmful not only to individual patients=E2=80=99 health and welfare but =
to finances of nation-state. For example, the US congressional Budget Offic=
e estimates that the medical cost will occupy 25% of GDP in 2025 if it keep=
s the same rate of growth as of now. The Bush administration=E2=80=99s secr=
etary of Health and Human Services said in a speech that if the medical cos=
t keeps rising at the current rate, an enormous national financial crisis, =
surpassing the subprime mortgage crisis, will eventually develop. The main =
component of the rising medical cost is tremendous amount of expenses paid =
to pharmaceutical companies for new drugs and medical devices. The pharmace=
utical cost occupies 30% of the South Korean medical expenditure. According=
ly the MOH has initiated the Positive List System since 2006.=0D
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The basis of the Positive List System  lies at the negotiation between phar=
maceutical companies and the South Korean Government to determine prices of=
 new drugs. However, pharmaceutical companies retain the exclusive capacity=
 to produce and provide drugs. Therefore, the prices are determined at the =
rate where pharmaceutical companies would not withhold their drugs. All Sou=
th Korean Government can do is to accept the price pharmaceutical companies=
 want, the price that is practically unaffordable to patients. Meanwhile, p=
atients are dying despite the existence of drugs that can save their lives.=
 The South Korean Government is simply ignoring this tragedy.=0D
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We cannot and should not look away from preventable deaths of patients any =
more. The patent right cannot supersede the right to lives. Therefore, we K=
orea Patient Groups and NGOs request a compulsory license of Fuzeon. This i=
s to declare to the world that the right to lives is of utmost importance, =
much more than intellectual property rights. The South Korean Government sh=
ould protect this deserved truth, by granting the compulsory license.=0D
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There are 2 things you can do to support our struggle.=0D
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1. We Korean activist are collecting signatures in support of the compulsor=
y license filing. If you would like to sign on, please send your organizati=
on=E2=80=99s name (or your name if you would like to sign on as an individu=
al), email address to naengee@hotmail.com=0D
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2. You can fax to Korea Intellectual Property Office to urge them to grant =
compulsory license. (We attach=C3=A9 one example)=0D
Fax number is *82-42-472-3464=0D
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Thank you for your solidarity.=0D
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<Example>=0D
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Mr. Jung-Sik Koh=0D
Commissioner of Korean Intellectual Property Office=0D
Government Complex =E2=80=93 Daejeon,=0D
139 Seonsa-ro, Seo-gu, Daejeon,=0D
South Korea=0D
Tel : 82-42-481-5072=0D
Fax : 82-42-472-9314=0D
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Dear Commissioner Jung-Sik Koh=0D
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We=E2=80=99ve heard that Korean civil rights groups and patient groups file=
d requests for an open compulsory license on the AIDS drug Enfuvirtide (Roc=
he=E2=80=99s Fuzeon) with the Korean government.=0D
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Fuzeon is an essential drug for HIV-positive people who have tried other an=
ti-HIV drugs in the past and are unable to keep their viral loads undetecta=
ble using drugs that are currently available. However, South Korean people =
with HIV/AIDS have never seen this drug in the last 4 years.=0D
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To secure the right to access to medicine, WTO suggests one very important =
way, compulsory license. The Doha Declaration on the TRIPS Agreement and Pu=
blic Health, adopted in November 2001, clearly indicated that (1) =E2=80=9C=
the TRIS Agreement does not and should not prevent Members from taking meas=
ures to protect public health=E2=80=9D and that (2)the Agreement can and sh=
ould be interpreted and implemented in a manner supportive of WTO Members=
=E2=80=99 right to protect public health and, in particular, to promote acc=
ess to medicines for all=E2=80=9D=0D
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Roche=E2=80=99s cynicism and systematic abuse of its superior position on p=
eople living with HIV/AIDS has been raised for a long time. Under this cond=
ition, we strongly believe that it is the responsibility for the government=
 to take strong measures on unethical behavior of Roche starting with compu=
lsory licensing for a clearly non-working life-saving patent so as to prote=
ct  citizen's rights to health as well as life.=0D
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The right to life and the right to access to essential medicines are fundam=
ental and social constitutional rights. With this letter, therefore, we wou=
ld like to express our strong support for compulsory licensing on Fuzeon in=
 Korea.=0D
Thank you for your attention.=0D
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Sincerely=0D
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Ara KangDirector of the Korean Pharmacists for Democratic Society3F, 26-1, =
Ewha-Dong, Chongro-Gu,Seoul, South KoreaWebsite : http://www.pharmacist.or.=
krE-mail : naengee@hotmail.comTel : 82-11-389-0614Fax : 82-2-766-6025=0D
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