E-DRUG: What will happen in January 2005?
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Dear friends,
We all are aware about the WTO agreements that have to be followed by the
middle developed countries from 1.1.2005 on. That's in 9 months from now.
I am wondering that nobody is discussing the consequences and no concrete
steps are taken to avoid increasing problems in access to ARVs in all our
programs in the field. Having discussed that question with some friends in
South and North I feel more and more a very big uncertainty.
All ARVs that were patented before 1996 will continue to be available as
generics too. Who would be able to prepare a detailed list about those drugs
and that drugs that will be offered as brands only? We should inform our
networks and partners soonest because some of them might have started using
the newer ARVs in generic form for alternative regimes. They will get
problems soon because of export restrictions from supplier side.
And of course this will be the same for using raw materials. We still are
talking about increasing the local production in least developed countries.
There are only very few, the capacity is low up to now but most of the
obstacles are based in the WTO procedures. No LDC is able to fulfil all the
complicated bureaucratic requests for such a proposal. So the only way up to
now can be a governmental order to a local company to produce generic ARVs
for public distribution - no export, no sale. Mozambique is going this way,
Cosmos in Nairobi is waiting for such an order from the government, and
others will follow hopefully.
But of course, they do need raw materials - and developed and middle
developed countries only offer them. Does it mean that nobody in the LDCs
will be allowed in future to produce ARVs as generics that were developed
after 1996?
I feel we have to raise these questions, some of us might know the answers.
Please share them with us and with all the partners in South and North that
are waiting for precise advice and assistance.
Albert Petersen
i/c of Difaem-Pharmaceutical Department, Tuebingen, Germany
Chair of EPN (Ecumenical Pharmaceutical Network), Nairobi, Kenya
Difaem - German Institute for Medical Mission
P.O.Box 1307
72003 T�bingen
Germany
Tel: +49/7071/206531
Fax: +49/7071/27125
e-Mail: petersen.amh@difaem.de
www.difaem.de
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