Date: 23 June 2011
Source: KEIonline.org
AIDS Groups outraged as US declares war on generic
AIDS medicines through Free Trade Agreement Negotiations with Vietnam - and -
Malaysia
23 June 2011,- Bangkok – and - Ho Chi Minh The `Asia Pacific` Network of
Positive People (APN+) is expressing outrage at ongoing free trade agreement
negotiations by the United States with Vietnam and Malaysia that threaten
access to medicines for HIV, TB, hepatitis-C as well as other diseases in these
countries. These negotiations are taking place as part of the negotiations on a
Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA) between the US and several countries
on the Pacific rim including Vietnam and Malaysia .
The 7th round of the TPPA negotiations is currently taking place in `Ho Chi
Minh City` in Vietnam and comes barely 10 days after the United Nations High Level
Meeting on HIV and AIDS in `New York` where all countries including the United
States committed to “ensure that intellectual property rights provisions in
trade agreements do not undermine these existing flexibilities, as confirmed by
the `Doha` Declaration on the TRIPS Agreement and Public Health.”
“The ink on the 2011 UN Declaration on HIV and AIDS is not even dry,” said Mr.
Shiba Phurailatpam of APN+. “The Declaration clearly recognizes that
intellectual property can be a barrier to access to medicines. Everything in
the history of the AIDS epidemic testifies to this. Over 80% of those on AIDS
treatment in poor countries are taking generic medicines. And yet the United
States is pushing even greater legal barriers to generic treatment,” he said.
Leaked negotiation texts of the TPPA show that the US is pushing intellectual
property provisions far in excess of what Vietnam and Malaysia have agreed to in
the World Trade Organisation`s Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of
Intellectual Property Rights or TRIPS. Known as `TRIPS-plus` these measures are
contrary to the Doha Declaration which re-affirmed that TRIPS - can and should
be interpreted and implemented in a manner supportive of WTO member`s right to
protect public health and, in particular, to promote access to medicines for
all.
Generic production pushed down the price of first line AIDS medicines from $15,000
per patient per year to less than $70 per patient per year. Now many people
living with HIV need to switch to newer AIDS medicines that are already more
expensive.
`I wonder if President Obama and Secretary Clinton realize that the U.S. trade
representative is currently demanding that Vietnam change its laws in ways that
would prevent affordable generic production of new AIDS medicines` said Do Dang
Dong of the Vietnam Network of People living with HIV (VNP+). `PEPFAR switched
to generic ARVs in order to ensure the viability of AIDS treatment in Vietnam,
which would be drastically undermined if our access to new generic medicines is
cut off because of this Free Trade Agreement.`
One of the key US demands relates to the ability of Vietnam and Malaysia to use
a key TRIPS flexibility to prevent frivolous patents from being granted. `The
Indian patents law pioneered this health safeguard which was then also adopted
by the Philippines,` said Loon Gangte of the `Delhi` Network of Positive People
(DNP+). `We have used this safeguard to successfully oppose patents on new
forms of old medicines to ensure continued generic production of
lamivudine/zidovudine combinations, nevirapine syrup and tenofovir,` said
Gangte.
The TPP negotiations will not only make it difficult for Vietnam and Malaysia
to emulate the Indian example, they will in fact mandate that these countries
grant patents on small changes made to existing medicines. The US is clearly
supporting evergreening - the practice of the multinational pharmaceutical
industry of extending their patents well beyond 20 years by simply converting a
tablet to a syrup or changing the dose of an existing medicine. Thus, while `India`
was able to reject a patent for the syrup form of nevirapine, a medicine that
dates back to the 1980s, Vietnam and Malaysia will not be able to. `The US also
wants TPPA countries to eliminate pre-grant oppositions, a safeguard that helps
prevent abuse of the patent system and unwarranted drug monopolies.`
According to Peter Maybarduk of the U.S. group
Public Citizen, `The U.S. seems obsessed with maximizing intellectual property
and favoring the big drug companies, even if it leads to low-quality patents
that do nothing for innovation and block access to lifesaving treatment.`
For many HIV-positive drug users who are also living with hepatitis-C in the
Asian region, Vietnam also offers the best hope for supplying generic pegylated
interferon, the costly medicine used to treat hepatitis-C. Pegylated interferon
has been patented in India and Indian generic companies are reluctant to
produce it. `The Vietnamese generics industry, with support from the Vietnamese
government, is taking the lead in supplying affordable access for the treatment
of hepatitis-C.` said Noah Metheny of the Thai AIDS Treatment Action Group. `Roche
is challenging Vietnam`s generic production of pegylated interferon and now the
TPPA negotiations are threatening to impose even greater legal barriers that
may prevent similar attempts by Vietnam to ensure generic production of key
medicines.`
The US has also left placeholders for provisions on data exclusivity, patent extensions
and patent linkage. `The US seems poised to retreat from its` May 2007`commitments
to reduce the negative impact of FTAs on access to medicines.` Expected
US-proposed terms on data exclusivity, patent linkage and patent extensions
could change laws in developing countries, turning drug safety regulators into
patent cops for big pharma, and jeopardizing the advancement of low-cost
biologic treatments for health concerns, perhaps including hepatitis C,` said
Peter Maybarduk`
`We have already lost so many friends and colleagues to AIDS. Life-saving
medicines for HIV/AIDS exist, so no more people should have to die. But the
TPPA would make newer AIDS medicines unaffordable, condemning us to an
unnecessary death,` said Edward Low of the Positive Malaysian Treatment Access
& Advocacy Group (MTAAG+). `For PLHIV, we need life-long treatment. For us,
it is a matter of life and death. So we call for a halt to these FTA
negotiations because without affordable medicines, more of us will die.`
APN+, MTAAG+ and VNP+ are signatories to the `Bangkok Declaration on Free Trade
Agreements and Access to Medicines` and call for an immediate halt to the TPPA
negotiations and on the United States to honour its international commitments
made less than two weeks ago to ensure universal access to treatment and to
ensure that trade agreements do not undermine developing countries` abilities
to use all available legal and policy measures to ensure access to medicines.
Keywords: US / Breaks / UN / AIDS
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