E-drug: MSF web site on access to medicines
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[copied from DRUGINFO with thanks; WB]
Hi all
Those of you who follow the "access to essential drugs" debate
closely might be interested to see the Medecins sans Frontieres web
page dealing with this topic:
http://www.msf.org/advocacy/accessmed/
Also accessible from the site is the text of an article in the
Economist of 18 Aug 1999
(http://www.msf.org/advocacy/accessmed/info/1999/08/econ-balms.htm)
One sentence really caught my eye: "Patents have long been a sore point
between companies which own them and developing countries (such as South
Africa) which need to get their hands on nifty new medicines and resent having
to pay premiums which the patent-holders expect as a reward for their
innovation."
While the emphasis of the article is on the need for new drugs for
diseases of the developing world, rather than on making those we
already have somewhat cheaper, the final paragraph really does sum it
all up: "In the end, developing new medicines for the world's poorest will
depend on appeals to both altruism and self-interest. Balancing the
two may prove the toughest trick of all for the new alliances between
the public and private sector."
If no-one's even talking, and positions aren't shifting in either
direction, how will we build any alliances?
regards
Andy