Deadlock over access to medicines
pharmafile | October 27, 2003 | News story | |Â Â Â
A row over patents on diabetes and asthma drugs has produced a deadlock in talks to improve access to medicines in the developing world.
World Trade Organisation talks ended in a stalemate in December after the US and EU blocked moves to allow developing countries to bypass patents on diabetes and asthma products, as well medicines for AIDS, malaria, and tuberculosis.
Industry lobby groups say this interpretation of the new TRIPS intellectual patent laws is too liberal, and could undermine pharmaceutical patents world-wide.
Dr Harvey Bale, Director General of the International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Associations (IFPMA), said "The result should aim at the problem of access to medicines for poor countries instead of primarily creating a right for copycat firms to perpetuate the copying of breakthrough medicines for conditions not relevant for developing country epidemics."
Non-governmental organisations such as Oxfam are, however, angry that the broader interpretation has been blocked. Oxfam spokeswoman Celine Charveriat said that the US, EU, Canada and Switzerland had put "enormous political pressure" on developing countries to win the argument.
"The fact that ambassadors of the EU and the US argued that developing countries should not have access to affordable generic drugs for asthma and diabetes, which kill and debilitate millions in these countries proves that profits still come before people lives and that the WTO has powers totally beyond its competence," she added.
The industry is particularly opposed to generic production of diabetes and asthma treatments in developing countries because these therapy areas are among the most lucrative, and potentially open to parallel trade back into developed markets.
Dr Bale said: "We need to make sure these WTO negotiations also come up with effective provisions that prevent the diversion of products from the poor countries to wealthier developed countries, as we have seen recently occur with diverted AIDS medicines from Africa to the European Union."
WTO Director General Supachi Panitchpakdi is now urging a swift resumption to the talks, and hopes an agreement can be reached at the WTO General Council meeting, to be held on 10-11 February.
The pharmaceutical industry position that prices are not the only the issue in improving access to medicines gained the support of the UK Government and Clare Short, Secretary of State for International Development.
Ms Short chaired an industry-government working party that produced policy recommendations and strategy to meet the needs of developing nations.
She said: "At the moment very poor people in the world are not in touch with any healthcare system. So some of the headline campaigning we admire, [which says] the price of drugs is the only issue, that is just not the case. We have to strengthen the basic systems so that there are delivery systems so that people are given the drugs they need on a systematic and regular basis."
Chris Viebacher, Head of GSK Europe and member of the working party, said: "Price is not the only issue it is an important issue but as I said we started this initiative five years ago and we are only now seeing uptake and that is largely due to the partnership approach and that is fundamental to its success."
The UK Government has now signed up to a UN fund to co-ordinate a world-wide, broad programme of access initiatives but the key players, the US and EU, have yet to give their support.
Gro Harlem Brundtland, Director-General of the World Health Organisation, said: "it's 0.1% or 0.2% of the GDP of the rich countries which will solve the whole problem to me that shocking to have that problem. If it comes forward we are at least on the right track."
