[Random-bits] Salon: Pfizer vs. the Philippines, round two

[James Love]

http://www.salon.com/tech/htww/2006/04/27/pfizer_two/index.html

Pfizer vs. the Philippines, round two
Andrew Leonard
April 27, 2006

The Philippines are not backing down to Pfizer. Three weeks ago, we
discussed here
<http://www.salon.com/tech/htww/2006/04/04/pfizer/index.html> a patent
infringement lawsuit filed by Pfizer against Philippine government
officials. In 18 months, the patent on Pfizer's hypertension drug
Norvasc will expire, and the Philippines wants to be ready,
<http://www.huffingtonpost.com/james-love/terrorism-pfizer-
style_b_18290.html>
hoping, at that date, to immediately start importing a much cheaper
Indian version of the drug. But registering a new generic drug with the
Board of Food and Drugs in the Philippines is a time-consuming process,
so the government wants to start now.

Norvasc is one of Pfizer's biggest sellers, and it wants to maintain its
window of high-priced sales as long as possible; thus, the lawsuit. But
on April 10, Roberto Pagdanganan, president of the state-owned
Philippine International Trading Corp. (PITC), turned around and filed a
countersuit against Pfizer,
<http://news.inq7.net/regions/index.php?index=1&story_id=72650> just one
day after testifying in the patent suit filed against him.

The whole brouhaha offers a classic illustration of how the interests of
the pharmaceutical industry and developing nations don't mesh. This is
not the first time that Big Pharma and the Philippines
<http://www.cptech.org/ip/health/c/phil/> have tangled. For the better
part of a decade, Philippine government officials, who claim that drug
prices in the Philippines are significantly higher than elsewhere in
Asia, have been looking for ways to bring down medical costs. They've
been opposed at every step of the way by the pharmaceutical industry,
working hand in hand with the United States government.
<http://www.cptech.org/ip/health/c/phil/philtimeline.html>

In 1999 the Philippine Secretary of Health, Alberto Romualdez, attempted
to institute an "administrative order" that would require pharmaceutical
companies to label off-patent drugs with their generic name, in addition
to their brand name, in the hopes of educating consumers as to cheaper
alternatives to the brand name versions. The pharmaceutical industry
threatened to withdraw from the country, and U.S. State Department
representatives made not-so-veiled threats of trade retaliation.
Romualdez's response to the threats, quoted in Jennifer Ellen Mattson's
illuminating timeline of the 1999 dispute,
<http://www.cptech.org/ip/health/c/phil/philtimeline.html> is
instructive.

"Suspension or termination of the operations of U.S.-based
pharmaceuticals will cause only minor dislocations in the Philippine
pharmaceutical industry, as most of these are available either through
local manufacturers or from other countries. Innovative products that
are truly life-saving will continue to be available through
international humanitarian agencies and other concerned organizations."

"Brand name regulation...will affect only products that require doctor's
prescriptions for their use. These comprise a small fraction of total
American goods sold in the Philippines. It does not seem appropriate for
the strongest economic power in the world to jeopardize the entire range
of commerce with the Philippines. The disproportion is especially clear
if one considers that what is at stake is the health and lives of
Filipino children as against the already vast profits of a few
companies."

"The Department of Health has a responsibility to examine all possible
options that will assure quality health care for all Filipinos. If these
options include limiting the property rights of a few, it is still
mandatory to consider them in view of the well-established legal maxims
favoring the benefit of the majority."

"Limiting the property rights of the few.../ It's hard to imagine words
that could strike more fear into Big Pharma. Not that anyone at Pfizer
appears to be worried. Although Pfizer stock has declined in value by
some 44 percent during the tenure of current CEO, Hank McKinnell,
Pfizer's Board of Directors has rewarded him with a penson package worth
at least $83 million dollars.


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James Love, CPTech / www.cptech.org / mailto:james.love@cptech.org /
tel. +1.202.332.2670 / mobile +1.202.361.3040

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