Date: 2 February 2011
Source: The Guardian
Link: http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/sarah-boseley-global-health/2011/feb/02/pharmaceuticals-industry-drugs?INTCMP=SRCH
A new Oxfam report warns that the strategy against counterfeit medicines
suits the interests of big pharma and rich countries, but will not
safeguard the poor against fake and sub-standard drugs, and could hinder
their access to cheap quality medicines
There is a lot of talk about the dangers of counterfeit medicines these
days and, indeed, counterfeit drugs are dangerous things. But, says Oxfam
in a new report today, the war on fake drugs in the developing world is
being waged in a way that may suit the big pharmaceutical companies but
poses very grave dangers to the health of the poor.
Fake drugs and sub-standard drugs, such as
antibiotics with too little of the active ingredient to do any good, are
sold all over the developing world. They can do real harm, but the
strategy against counterfeits will not stop much of that trade, according
to Oxfam, because its focus is to strengthen the patent system. Patents
prevent legal copies of new drugs from being made for a period of up to 20
years - but many of the fake and sub-standard drugs going around in Africa
and Asia are not in patent anyhow.
Oxfam says rich countries, which are pushing for stronger patents in the
interest of the pharmaceutical companies which contribute to their GDP,
should instead be helping poor countries to strengthen their drug
regulatory and policing systems. This is how Rohit Malpani, senior policy
adviser, puts it:
Poor countries are facing a crisis of substandard and falsified medicines
that can harm or even kill those who take them. Yet rather than help poor
countries address the problem to ensure safe, effective and quality
medicines for all, rich countries are putting commercial interests ahead
of public health in these countries.
The European Union and the United States continue to focus almost exclusively
on eliminating counterfeit medicines which form only a small part of this
public health problem? but which are a serious concern for their
multinational companies. They have used the crisis in medicine quality in
developing countries as an excuse to push for new intellectual property
rules that will boost the profits of pharmaceutical giants at the expense
of affordable medicines for the poor.
Oxfam is particularly critical of the European Union,
but also of the World Health Organisation. There is confusion between
counterfeits and generics - legally-made, cheap copies of medicines that,
particularly
in the case of Aids drugs, have saved lives in the developing world. A WHO-led
initiative called IMPACT (International Medical Products Anti-Counterfeiting
Taskforce) is unclear on the difference between them.
The report says:
IMPACT proposes an expansive definition of counterfeit medicines that confuses
conterfeits and generic medicines, and over-emphasises police action to
ensure the safety and efficacy of medicines.
At the same time, the multinational pharmaceutical industry has exerted
pressure on individual countries, such as Kenya
and Thailand, to change their national laws and law enforcement priorities
in ways that endanger access to generic medicines.
Generic medicines are vital to the health of the poor. Enforcing patents,
in a way that might restrict their manufacture, will do more harm than
good, says Oxfam. Instead, developing countries should be helped to
strengthen their own monitoring and regulation so that the drugs their
citizens use are safe and effective.
Keywords: Drugs / Fake / Oxfam / EU
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