E-drug: US to consider poor countries' need for drugs
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Financial Times: Dec. 3, 1999
[distributed as fair use. HH]
WORLD NEWS: TRADE: US to consider poor countries' need for drugs
HEALTHCARE CALL FOR END TO TRADE PRESSURES IN
HEALTH-RELATED DISPUTES:
Public health groups yesterday welcomed President Bill Clinton's
announcement at the World Trade Organisation meeting that US trade
policy would in future consider poor countries' need for access to
lifesaving drugs, including drugs for treating HIV/Aids.
Medecins Sans Frontieres, Health Action International and the
US-based Consumer Project on Technology urged the US to back up
the president's words by ending current trade pressures on poor
countries in healthcare related disputes. Non-governmental
organisations, including Aids activists, have mounted a vigorous
campaign over the past year or so to change US trade policy.
Under pressure from US pharmaceutical companies, they say,
Washington has tried to prevent developing countries from using
arrangements such as compulsory licensing or parallel imports to
provide lower-cost drugs, even where these are permitted under WTO
intellectual property rules.
In September, the US dropped its sanctions threats against South
Africa which wants to use these arrangements to cope with its HIV/
Aids epidemic, after Aids groups disrupted the US presidential
campaign of Vice-president Al Gore.
However, Jamie Love of the Consumer Project on Technology said the
US was still in dispute with more than 40 countries over intellectual
property issues related to health. After President Clinton's speech on
Wednesday, US officials said the US trade representative would work
with the US health department in trying to ensure the availability of
lower-cost medicines where countries identify a "healthcare
emergency, particularly in respect of HIV/Aids".
Mr Love said the move marked a sharp shift in US policy but it was
still unclear how the new arrangements would work and how the
pharmaceutical industry would react.
Harvey Bale, of the International Federation of Pharmaceutical
Manufacturers Associations, said yesterday that the change "would
not do any damage to the pharmaceutical industry". But compulsory
licensing and parallel imports were not the answer to drug-access
problems because even drugs provided at cost price were not
necessarily affordable.
A better option was global financing through joint public/private
initiatives such as the Medicines for Malaria venture sponsored by the
World Health Organisation.
Separately, pharmaceutical companies expressed concern about a EU
proposal for the WTO ministerial declaration that would stipulate the
right of countries to use compulsory licensing for medicines on the
WHO's essential drugs list.
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