E-drug: MSF response to WSJ
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Response to "The Boys from Brazil", by Richard Tren, WSJ, Feb 25.
Patents are not divine rights, they are a societal tool that must be
balanced to benefit everyone. Of the 40 million people living with
HIV/AIDS worldwide, only 10% currently have access to antiretroviral
therapy. Every effort must be made to increase access to these
medicines for the remaining 90%. If patented antiretrovirals are too
expensive, countries should produce or import generic drugs - as is
their acknowledged right under the World Trade Organisation TRIPS
Agreement.
The use of generic AIDS drugs in the developing world will not
dissuade the pharmaceutical industry from developing new AIDS drugs.
Drug sale profits come from wealthy countries, which represent 80% of
the worldwide drug market. With Africa accounting for only 1% of drug
sales, it is ludicrous to suggest that the use of generics in Africa
diminishes the economic incentive for multinationals to conduct
research.
The patent system can be an important fuel for innovation, but fails
dramatically when there is no profitable market. The private sector
has long neglected the major killers of the developing world: only 1%
of drugs approved in the last twenty-five years were for tropical
diseases such as sleeping sickness and kala-azar. New cures are
desperately needed for these diseases, but promising compounds are
rarely pursued because they promise no return on investment.
M�decins Sans Fronti�res (MSF) has signed an agreement with
FarManguinhos (which is part of Fiocruz, a public entity funded by the
Federal Government and associated with the Ministry of Health) to use
their generic drugs, including antiretrovirals, in MSF projects. In
return, MSF contributes finances to FarManguinhos' efforts to find new
cures for neglected diseases.
Brazilian antiretroviral prices are low because FarManguinhos is a
public entity which aims to ensure that antiretroviral treatment is
available to all people living with HIV/AIDS in Brazil. This approach
has enabled over 100,000 people in Brazil to gain access to
life-saving drugs. The current agreement between MSF and FarManguinhos
extends these benefits to others in need outside Brazil, and
contributes to the development of much needed medicines for diseases
that are being ignored by multinational drug companies.
Dr Bernard P�coul
Director, Campaign for Access to Essential Medicines
M�decins Sans Fronti�res, Geneva
email contact: Ingrid_COX@msf.org
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