E-drug: U.S. concession may clear the way for generic ARVs
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U.S. Drops its Demand for List of Diseases Covered by Drugs
Agreement
24 June 2003
The United States made a crucial concession Sunday in World Trade
Organization discussions to ensure that poor nations can afford
patented drugs to treat diseases like HIV/AIDS and malaria. A senior
U.S. official said Washington no longer is insisting that a WTO
agreement to allow the importation of cheap, generic copies of drugs
should be limited to a list of specified diseases.
WTO rules allow countries facing public health crises to override
patents and order their drugs from cheaper, generic suppliers. But
they can only order from domestic manufacturers, which is of no use
for the majority of poor nations that have no pharmaceutical
industries.
An agreement that would have allowed imports of generic drugs in
certain circumstances collapsed late last year when the United
States, under pressure from major drug companies, refused to accept
it, despite agreement by all other WTO members. One of
Washington's biggest concerns was that the provision would be used
to treat almost any medical condition, from diabetes to impotence.
The United States alternatively proposed a list of entirely infectious
diseases to be covered, mostly diseases affecting sub-Saharan
Africa. Developing countries rejected this, claiming the list was too
restrictive. Many developing countries have said they will not accept
other WTO agreements until the drugs issue is settled.
"While the industry sees it as appropriate for countries to use
compulsory licensing and even importation to meet health needs,
they want to be sure that countries do not abuse that as a way of
promot[ing] the commercial interests of generic industries," the official
said. Producers also want to ensure that such cheap generic drugs
do not end up in industrialized countries' markets, he added. The
official said the United States still is in discussion with drug company
bosses, and he was hopeful that the issue would be settled by WTO's
September ministerial meeting in Cancun, Mexico.
[Source: Naomi Koppel; Associated Press, 6/22/03.]
Dr Klara Tisocki
Phone: 965 7975493
Kuwait City
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