Ottawa and Toronto � Brand-name
pharmaceutical companies in Canada removed a significant barrier to a plan
to provide life-saving drugs to poor countries, saying they will work with
Ottawa to allow generic drug makers to produce patented medicines for
AIDS-stricken areas.
Canada's Research-Based Pharmaceutical Companies, a lobby group for the
brand-name firms, said in a press release that it recognizes that Canada
"has an opportunity to show international leadership" by changing patent
laws to improve access to drugs for the diseases.
The statement contrasted sharply with the position last week of an
international brand-name industry official, who called Ottawa's new
generics plan window-dressing and a "negative black eye" that would drive
investment away from Canada.
And it was hailed as a "very significant development" by Stephen Lewis,
the United Nations special envoy to Africa on AIDS issues, who had earlier
criticized brand-name manufacturers for resisting the plan.
Prime Minister Jean Chr�tien's government should now be able to get
amended patent laws in place before the end of the year, Mr. Lewis said.
"They've got everybody on board."
Nevertheless, federal officials expect tough negotiations with the
brand-name manufacturers over the scope of patent exemptions.
The officials, working around the clock on the legislation, hope it can
become law in the next month or so before Mr. Chr�tien prorogues the House
of Commons in preparation for his retirement.
Liberal politicians are lobbying other parties to get the unanimous
support required for quick passage.
But federal insiders say the drafting is proving harder than Industry
Minister Allan Rock initially thought and it may be "next to impossible"
to push it through this fall.
The new legislation would exempt generic drug companies from
regulations that make it illegal for them to produce cheaper versions of
brand-name companies' drugs.
Without speedy implementation, it would be hard to translate the
Canadian initiative into realization of the UN's goal of getting three
million AIDS patients worldwide into drug treatment by 2005.
Mr. Lewis said yesterday he hopes Ottawa's move will prod other rich
countries to take similar steps.
It was a plea from Mr. Lewis last week that prompted federal cabinet
ministers to go public with the new plan, which would allow Canada's
generic drug makers for the first time to export low-cost versions of
anti-AIDS and other medicines to the developing world.
Besides the cabinet and the generics industry, the plan has the support
of prime-minister-designate Paul Martin, several UN organizations, global
health advocates and AIDS support groups from around the world.
"We strongly believe that if properly implemented, this brave step will
make a significant contribution toward ensuring a sustainable supply of
affordable essential medicines in the developing world," an AIDS treatment
group in South Africa said.
Murray Elston, president of the group representing Canadian brand-name
companies, mainly subsidiaries of multinational pharmaceutical companies,
said in the statement that Canadian legislation should be consistent with
a World Trade Organization agreement on access to generic drugs reached in
August.
That deal sought to meet the needs of developing countries ravaged by
diseases such as AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria while protecting the
patent rights of brand-name companies that fund costly research into new
medicines.
The brand-name industry "is working with the federal government to
determine how the WTO decision can best be implemented, taking into
account the current and future needs of developing countries, of Canada
and of patients worldwide," Mr. Elston said in the statement.
The manufacturers have previously said they feared low-cost generics
exported to poor countries would be smuggled back to Europe and North
America, undercutting brand-name drugs and rendering patents
worthless.
Last week, Harvey Bale, director-general of the International
Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Associations in Geneva, said
the Canadian initiative would erode patent protection and "won't solve a
thing."
Still to be determined is the scope of patent exemptions in Ottawa's
new legislation.
Speaking to reporters in Toronto yesterday, global health advocates
hailed the initiative but warned against restricting exemptions to health
emergencies or specific diseases.
"How many people would have to be sick or die before we call it an
emergency?" asked Richard Elliott, director of policy and research for the
Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network.
Exemptions should extend to drugs for cancer, diabetes, asthma and
other conditions, Mr. Elliott said. "We can't deny affordable medicine to
people because their disease or their health condition is not on the
approved list of the Canadian government."
Advocates also called on Canada to help poor countries develop their
own generic industries so they are not tied to Canadian imports
forever.
"Full support is needed for manufacturing capacity in the developing
world," said James Orbinski, former president of M�decins Sans Fronti�res
(Doctors Without Borders).
According to UN estimates, nearly 30 million Africans had HIV/AIDS at
the start of this year. Of the 4.1 million who could benefit from
treatment with antiretroviral drugs, between 25,000 and 50,000 are
receiving them.
Even if the Canadian initiative makes it easier to export cheap
generics, those dealing with the African AIDS crisis still must find the
money to pay for them.
The Global Fund to fight AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria has spent about
$1.5-billion (U.S.) on AIDS programs but efforts to raise a further
$3-billion are faltering.
Mr. Lewis has harshly criticized rich countries, which he says spend
600 times as much on defence as they do on AIDS in Africa every
year.
