Dari www.concordreview. com:
Concord Assessment
It was only on June 4 that Indonesian Health Minister Siti Fadilah Supari
accused US drug manufacturer Baxter Healthcare Corp. of moving too slowly in
developing a bird flu vaccine using its virus strain. "I can't get Baxter to
live up to their promises," she said, adding she had not heard from the US
company for months even though clinical trials were long overdue. Indonesia
signed a memorandum of understanding with Baxter early last year seeking its
expertise in vaccine production so the country could stockpile affordable
drugs in the event of a pandemic. Baxter spokesman Chris Bona however
reacted by stating that the MoU represented only a "framework for future
discussions, " not an explicit agreement to produce a bird flu vaccine using
Indonesia's virus samples.
Now Baxter is claiming to have produced a bird flu vaccine that shows strong
signs of promise. It offers 45% protection against the Indonesian strain of
the virus. Minister Supari, it would seem, has every right to ask where
Baxter got the strains of the Indonesian bird flu if not from her. Baxter
appears to have gone ahead and breached the agreement and is now denying any
deal with Indonesia.
This bizarre case of apparent double standards - and indeed downright
deception - presents some justification for Supari's hysterical outbursts
alleging a conspiracy against countries such as Indonesia. It will be
interesting to see what price Baxter puts on its new drug: if it is beyond
the reach of the average person in the developing world, countries such as
Indonesia will have even more evidence to prove that they have to look
elsewhere and cease all dealings with major pharmaceutical companies.
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