# \[e-drug\] What will happen in January 2005? **URL:** \ **Category:** e-drug\ **Created:** [April 1, 2004, 10:55am UTC](https://talk.edrugplus.org/t/e-drug-what-will-happen-in-january-2005/19260 "2004-04-01T10:55:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 1\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Albert\_Petersen1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a87d85/32.png) [@Albert\_Petersen1](https://talk.edrugplus.org/u/Albert_Petersen1)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2004, 10:55am UTC](https://talk.edrugplus.org/t/e-drug-what-will-happen-in-january-2005/19260/1 "2004-04-01T10:55:36Z")
E-DRUG: What will happen in January 2005? ----------------------------------------- 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 -- To send a message to E-Drug, write to: e-drug@healthnet.org To subscribe or unsubscribe, write to: majordomo@healthnet.org in the body of the message type: subscribe e-drug OR unsubscribe e-drug To contact a person, send a message to: e-drug-help@healthnet.org Information and archives: [http://www.essentialdrugs.org/edrug](http://www.essentialdrugs.org/edrug)