[Pharm-policy] Glaxo Wellcome Stops AIDS Drug Import to Ghana

[James Love]

This, after Glaxo and other companies have told the EU and others that
patents on HIV drugs are not much of an issue in African countries,
outside of South Africa.

Jamie


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http://allafrica.com/stories/200011090043.html


Glaxo Wellcome Stops AIDS Drug Import to Ghana

Accra Mail (Accra)

November 9, 2000 

Staff Writers
Accra 

Glaxo Wellcome, the multi national drug manufacturer with a worldwide
distribution network, has won a case to effectively stop a rival company
in India from temporarily exporting the promising anti-AIDS drug Duovir
into Ghana.

The company alleges that Cipla, an Indian pharmaceutical company, has
been exporting a brand of Duovir tablets into Ghana in violation of its
patent to the new drug. Cipla is much respected for its achievements in
the medical world. It is leading a crusade to the discovery of new
techniques in the treatment of some life threatening diseases including
the development of anti-cancer drugs and medical aerosols for asthma.
Its product for hypertension, serpinoid, penetrated the American market
in 1946, and five years later Cipla entered into an agreement with a
Swiss firm to manufacture some of its newly developed drugs.

The drug industry was rocked by scandals of fake drug imports in recent
times but the case between Glaxo Wellcome and Cipla is that of patent
violation, which industry watchers believe will soon be resolved.

The sole importer of Duovir tablets to Ghana, Healthcare Services
Limited has not made any public comment on the issue but there are
indications that it will respect the right of Glaxo Wellcome.

Duovir is a fixed-dose combination of two drugs that proves as most
useful formula and provides comfort for AIDS patients and improves their
health and those living with the AIDS virus.

Health experts say an earlier trial of the drug has shown that it has
good efficacy and tolerability in clinical tests. Duovir has an
advantage over other anti-AIDS drugs. Unlike other anti-AIDS drugs whose
administration is complex, doctors ensure that Duovir is taken without
compromise and most importantly it improves the patient's compliance
since there is no reduction in the number of pills that the patient
takes each day.

Meanwhile, the temporary ban on the importation of the life-saving drug
into Ghana has dashed the hope of AIDS patients who depend on the drug
to improve their health and to prolong their life. Some doctors believe
Duovir holds the key to the future discovery for a cure for AIDS. In
most developing countries AIDS has become the number one killer and has
threatened the survival and sustenance of economic systems as millions
of economically active people die from the AIDS scourge.

There are other anti-AIDS drugs on the Ghanaian market including
Cambivir that is relatively expensive. A patient on Cambivir spends
about ¢1 million a month which most Ghanaians cannot afford and as a
result many AIDS sufferers now turn to herbal treatment which is
somewhat cheaper.