Date: 9 August 2011 Source: this Magazine Link: http://this.org/magazine/2011/08/09/c-393/
Apo-TriAvir, the generic HIV/AIDS drug. A Canadian law making its export easier is likely finished in parliament. Image courtesy Apotex.
In March, Canada came improbably close to establishing a system to deliver drugs cheaply and quickly to poorer countries. In a vote of 172 to 111, the House of Commons passed Bill C-393, which would have streamlined Canada`s Access to Medicine Regime, a program to provide low-cost generic drugs to the global south. It wasn`t to be: the senate stalled, waiting for the vote of non-confidence that precipitated a spring election. That vote came four days later, effectively trashing the bill.
CAMR allows generic drugmakers to export cheaper versions of brand-name drugs to developing countries, without needing the permission of the patent-holders. “We have tremendous capacity to help address a particular need,” says Richard Elliott, executive director at the Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network. But CAMR`s cumbersome red tape kept manufacturers away. Says Elliott: “To leave in place a regime that is not working would be harming millions of people who need access to medicines.”
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The program had only been used once since it was introduced in 2005. In 2007, Apotex, the largest Canadian-owned generic drug company, shipped enough HIV medication, Apo-TriAvir, to treat 21,000 patients in Rwanda [PDF]. Apotex says the final shipment went out in 2008. “We`re not likely to repeat the process under the current regime,” says Bruce Clark, Apotex`s senior vice-president of scientific and regulatory affairs. “It`s not just our decision, it`s a practical reality that no second country has made a request under the regime because it`s so complicated.” Bill C-393 would have simplified that process, but its future looks doubtful.
When C-393 passed in the House of Commons, it was supported by 26 Conservative MPs; 25 of those were re-elected, but the bill`s prospects in the new Conservative-dominated parliament look dim. “We saw what Harper did in the senate with the bill,” Elliott says.
On May 5, Elliott discussed CAMR`s future with other major advocacy groups. They`ve decided it`s not time to give up, but it will take time to re-assess the political climate before drafting some next steps. “The legal landscape is more challenging now than before,” he says. “But it`s worth trying to gather some intelligence and make a more informed assessment as to what the prospects might be before moving forward.”
Even with such slight optimism, Elliott expects the earliest the bill could be re-introduced—if at all—would be this fall.
