E-drug: Open letter to Trade Ministers
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http://www.cptech.org/ip/wto/p6/ngos11122002.html
November 12, 2002
Open letter to Trade Ministers:
We ask trade ministers to reject the efforts of the United
States and the European Commission to force a limited and
narrow solution to the issues raised in paragraph 6 of the
Doha Declaration on TRIPS and public health. The solution to
paragraph 6 should allow every country to deal effectively
with abuses of patent rights for any health care product.
The model for a solution on paragraph 6 is not the
restrictive one sought by the EU and US trade negotiators,
who are seeking to protect their export pharma industries,
but rather the solution recently endorsed by the European
Parliament.
On October 23, 2002, the European Parliament adopted, by 504
to 30, the report by Mrs Fran�oise Grossetete (EPP-ED, F)
together with Amendment 196, offered by Ms Dorrette Corbey
(Dutch Labour), which aims to update an EU code (Directive
2001/83/EC) relating to medicinal products for human use.
Amendment 196 states:
Manufacturing shall be allowed if the
medicinal product is intended for
export to a third country that has
issued a compulsory license for that
product, or where a patent is not in
force and if there is a request to
that effect of the competent public
health authorities of that country.
The approach in Amendment 196 sets out the basic
framework for a solution to the paragraph 6
problem. It would allow generic manufactures in
any country to supply consumers in any country,
so long as the sale of that product was legal
and appropriate in the country where it was to
be used by patients (when the legitimate rights,
if any, of the patent owners, are protected in
the country where the product was consumed).
There is no evidence that the use of compulsory
licenses has been abused by any country, for any
product. The approach taken by the European
Parliament would insure that compulsory
licensing will continue to be an effective tool
to address abuses of patent rights (including
cases where a creditable threat to issue a
compulsory license can address abusive pricing)
after developing counties comply with WTO TRIPS
obligations.
Sincerely,
Pia Valota
Association of European Consumers
Cecile Oh
Third World Network
Malaysia
James Love
Consumer Project on Technology
USA
Benedicte Federspiel
The Danish Consumer Council
Denmark
Andrew Goldman
Consumers Union
USA
Robert Zulu
Africa alive!
Zambia
Mark Silbergeld
Consumer Federation of America
USA
Michiel van der Velde
Consumentenbond
(Dutch Consumer Organisation)
Asia Russell
Health Gap
USA
Rod Leonard
Community Nutrition Institute
USA
Sanjay Basu
United Trauma Relief
Cambridge, MA USA
Chela Vazquez
Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy
Minnesota, USA
Robert Weissman
Essential Action USA
Consumer Unity & Trust Society,
Jaipur, India.
Richard Elliot
Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network
Dr K Balasubramaniam
Health Action International Asia - Pacific
Dr Gopal Dabade,
BUKO Pharma-Kampagne
Bielefeld, Germany
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James Love, Consumer Project on Technology
http://www.cptech.org, mailto:love@cptech.org
voice: 1.202.387.8030; mobile 1.202.361.3040
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