E-DRUG: Industry Lawsuit against the Goverment of South Africa
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[copied from PHARM-POLICY with thanks; WB]
[Given the policy change in USA towards SA, and the now general
agreement that Parallel import and Compulsory Licensing are
permissable under TRIPS, it might be interesting to review the
arguments of the February 1998 industry lawsuit against Act 90
(1997), which enabled PI, CL, generic substitution and other
cost-saving measures to make medicines more affordable in South
Affrica. Some time ago the industry 'suspended' its case, but it is
unclear what this means legally. The court case is still pending. WB]
Here is the text of the drug company lawsuit (Feb 18, 1998) against
the Government of South Africa. This concerns South Africa's
"Medicines and Related Substances Control Amendment Act, No. 90 of
1997.
There are forty-two applicants respresenting a host of multinational and South African drug companies as well as South African subsidiaries of multinational pharmaceutical
companies.
There are ten respondents in this case. The first respondent is the former President of South Africa, Nelson Mandela. The fourth respondent is Dr. N.C. Dlamini Zuma,
South Africa's Minister of Health.
The full text is available on the Consumer Project on
Technology's South Africa page at:
http://www.cptech.org/ip/health/sa/pharmasuit.html
Thiru Balasubramaniam
Consumer Project on Technology
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