Brazil and Thailand joined the list of countries that have broken the hold of patents on drugs that can be used to take care of AIDS patients. Many countries feel that the pharmaceutical companies that developed the medications that can be used to treat AIDS patients are charging excessive fees for their medicine. Some of these countries are taking steps to allow generic drug manufacturers to replicate the drugs and provide them a lower cost.
In the intellectual property of these companies is at stake, however former President Clinton in many countries around the world feel that the lives of people suffering from AIDS is more important than the property of the corporations that developed the drugs that extend lives and cure people. It is definitely a complex situation and not one that's readily solved with the Solomon like approach.
The Prime Minister of Thailand recently indicated that President Clinton gave him the go-ahead, his full support, for Thailand to break the patent held by Abbott Laboratories and allow generic drug manufacturer to create drugs for the population in Thailand that has been diagnosed with AIDS. That population is currently about 500,000 people. The cancellation of the selective patent will save Thailand approximately $305 per person per year. In other words that savings could total as much as $152 million a year for Thailand. That is just savings Thailand will still be spending close to $350 million a year in actual cost for the generic drugs.
As we focus on breaking gridlock and creating action for people around the world, and a high level we are in favor of this action. Pharmaceutical companies are definitely taking advantage of people in the pricing of their medications whether it's for life-saving AIDS drugs or simple antibiotics or solutions that study DNA in hopes of identifying genetic traits that make people more susceptible to various ailments from heart disease to cancer to diabetes and more.
I do recognize that these companies have invested heavily in working to come up with a cure for many of these conditions including AIDS. Their efforts should not be discounted based on a superficial level of greed that manifests after the fact.
I suspect there must be a slightly better middle ground that could be reached if governments and the pharmaceutical companies would work together a little more closely. Now that more governments are starting to strip patents the pharmaceutical companies need to take action to safeguard their intellectual property. Governments are seizing that property as they might in an eminent domain proceeding and I think it's only fair that government should consider offering something in exchange for that seizure.
For those negotiations to happen however it will be important for both sides to come to the table prepared to bargain and make progress in this area. Until that happens to pharmaceutical companies and governments representing people that need the drugs from the R&D departments of these pharmaceutical companies will be pitted against each other as adversaries and no one benefits under that circumstance.
President Clinton's efforts of save some lives and that's definitely a positive thing. It's not a holistic solution as someone had to be harmed to help another. President Clinton and the countries of the world need to find a way to solve this problem politically and motivates pharmaceutical companies to find cures without having to prey on people in need after the cures are found.
Link to Clinton backs violation of Aids drug patents | Special reports | Guardian Unlimited
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