Thailand and International Drug Patents

Will the Thai government go ahead and break international patents to import medicines used in the fight against AIDs and cancer? A final decision hasn't yet been made by the latest government, but it's going to be a major firestorm if they proceed with their plans to save some money, and badly piss off the world's pharmaceutical companies, who will then bring enormous pressure on the US and European nations to downgrade the trading status of Thailand.

It's one thing to rip off tourists when they visit your national parks and museums with specially inflated "tourist" prices, but something else when you do it on an international scale.

From the Belleville News Democrat:

"When it comes to public health, Thailand's former government leaders would like the world to think that they're a collection of 21st-century Robin Hoods. Last year, the unelected military-backed government gave Thailand's state-run pharmaceutical firm, the Government Pharmaceutical Organization (GPO), permission to manufacture generic versions of drugs that fight heart disease and AIDS, even though the medicines were still patented by Western firms.
Robbing the rich to give to the poor, right?
Not really. Sick Thai citizens have yet to see any benefits and the move has set a dangerous precedent that will stifle medical innovation and endanger the health of millions.
Thai officials broke the patents by using "compulsory licenses," a legal maneuver afforded to poor countries by the World Trade Organization (WTO) in the event of a public health crisis. If a local government can't afford a pertinent patented drug, it can issue a compulsory license to produce it before the patent has expired.
But these provisions were never intended to be used by countries that could afford the medicines but are simply choosing to pay less in order to make other purchases - like tanks for example.
Last year, for instance, Bangkok spent $9 million on pay raises for military leaders. Since 2006, the nation has increased its defense budget by over 30 percent.
The reality is that the former military government officials used compulsory licenses to pursue their own economic development. Their scheme is just protectionism by a different name - and world governments and trade bodies should see it for what it is.
Giving the GPO permission to manufacture patented drugs is part of the Thai government's plan to establish itself as a globally competitive producer of generics. Of course, there is nothing wrong with the government wanting to encourage its own industry - but not when that's done at the expense of patients and other countries who abide by both the letter and the spirit of the law.
So far, the gambit has proven quite lucrative. In 2005, Thailand's GPO reaped $35 million in profits by copying medicines. Only 2 percent of that went toward research and development."

Links of Interest:

• original post by Frisko Dude