http://bsd.mojones.com/mother_jones/ND97/erythromycin.html Let Them Eat Erythromycin By Rachel Burstein South Africa's health minister, Nkosazana Zuma, admires the generic-drugs policy in the U.S. so much that when she drafted her health care reform proposal, she called on the Food and Drug Administration for advice. But now Zuma has a bitter pill to swallow: Her efforts to make generic drugs widely available in her country are being blocked by the United States' brand-name pharmaceuticals industry, Commerce Secretary William Daley, and even Vice President Al Gore. At a meeting of U.S. and South African officials in Washington, D.C., in July [1997], both Daley and Gore warned that South Africa could face trade sanctions and be held in violation of the World Trade Organization's intellectual property agreement if it implements Zuma's reform proposal. The policy would give South African pharmacists the ability to suggest generic substitutions to customers whose doctors don't object, and would require that public health care facilities use only generics whenever they are available. Her opponents say that by discriminating against brand- name drugs, her proposal may pose "unjustified encumbrances" on trademarks, a violation of intellectual property rights. According to Stephen W. Schondelmeyer of the University of Minnesota College of Pharmacy, Zuma's proposed policy essentially matches what Medicaid does here in the U.S.� Medicaid pays for brand-name drugs only when generics are unavailable. But in South Africa, close to 70 percent of the population depends on publicly provided health care. That's a huge market for American drug companies to be shut out of, and they have acted swiftly to enlist the help of Washington's most powerful players in their fight against the reform. "Political leverage in the Commerce Department is being used to represent the interests of the pharmaceutical companies," says Gordon Johnston of the FDA's division of generics. [...] ============== Let Them Dot Comm South Yada's president, Nobdano Zminam, admired the generic domain policy so much that when she floated her proposal for free domain names, she called on the Department of Commerce for advice. But now Zminam has a bitter poll to swallow: Her efforts to make generic namespace widely available in her country are being blocked by the United States' brand-name Internet industry, Commerce Secretary William Gatey, and even President Whitley Warsh. At a meeting of U.S. and South African officials in Washington, D.C., in July [2000], both Gatey and Warsh warned that South Yada could face trade sanctions and be held in violation of the World Intellectual Property Organization's rules if it implements Zuma's reform proposal. The policy would give South Yada's co-op ISP PoMedia the ability to offer generic substitutions to customers. Her opponents say that by discriminating against brand-name domains, her proposal may pose "unjustified encumbrances" on trademarks, a violation of intellectual property rights. In South Yada, the entire population depends on Internet service. That's a huge market for American companies to be possibly shut out of, and they have acted swiftly to enlist the help of Washington's most powerful players in their fight for product placement. "Political leverage in the Commerce Department -- what else is new?" asks Jordan Goinsom of the ICANN division of General Electronics. kerry
