Marwaan Macan-Markar
BANGKOK, Aug 21 2009 (IPS) – A behind-the-scenes tussle between the pro-business, free trade wing of the Thai government and the country s public health activists is raging over the fate of a national programme to supply cheaper generic drugs.
Activists are worried that Bangkok s plans to strengthen the country s intellectual property (IP) strategy could come at a heavy price for the tens of thousands of Thais who depend on the locally produced generic versions of expensive brand-name drugs to stay alive.
Signs that this clash could spill over into the public arena emerged this month following a strongly worded letter written to Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva, which accused the government of ignoring the plight of Thais who depend on generic medicines.
(The government s strategy) will directly and indirectly affect access to medicines and health care services of Thai people, warns the letter, signed by a coalition of 14 leading public health and consumer rights organisations. The intellectual property regime has been a vital barrier to access to medicines for Thais for a long time.
To follow (the new intellectual property) strategy and plan will only worsen the situation and undermine access to health of Thai citizens, adds the Aug 14 letter, a copy of which was obtained by IPS. (This) strategy and plan undoubtedly contradicts the National Access to Medicines for All Strategy, which was approved by the Cabinet.
As troubling is the way the Cabinet approved the National Intellectual Property Strategy on July 9 to prevent IP violations in the country without a public hearing, says Kannikar Kijtiwatchakul, a public health activist and leader of the 14 organisations that wrote to the premier. These include the Thai Network of People Living with HIV/AIDS and the Foundation for AIDS Rights and Cancer Patient Network.
We are disturbed that there was no transparency in the way this strategy was approved, she says.
Officials from the ministries of public health and education were not asked for their inputs, nor were the views of civil society groups sought, she adds. They only got the views of the ministries of commerce, foreign affairs and science and technology. At least they should have listened to government stakeholders.
That attitude stood in contrast to the transparent manner in which the government sought public input weeks before, when the ministers approved the national strategy to ensure access to medicines for all, says Kannikar. The government got the views of the national health assembly, which has more than 2,000 constituents. There was no secrecy.
It is a view shared by others interviewed by IPS, including AIDS activists and academics. The plans for the national intellectual property strategy was submitted by the ministry of commerce with only emphasis on encouraging innovation and ways to protect it through enforcement measures, says Dr Jiraporn Limpananont, consultant to the social pharmacy research unit at Bangkok s Chulalongkorn University.
Civil society is concerned that through this strategy, there is an attempt to amend some laws that will make it difficult to issue compulsory licences for drugs, she adds. This could affect access to cheaper medicines.
Consequently, the activists are determined to protect the achievements of a previous Thai government to secure generic drugs by issuing compulsory licenses (CLs) to prolong the lives of people living with HIV and for patients suffering from heart disease and cancer.
Thailand is one of a handful of developing countries the others include Brazil that have placed the public health interest of their citizens over the profits of the United States and Europe-based pharmaceutical giants by breaking the patents of expensive, brand-name drugs. It is a measure covered under the international trading rules of the World Trade Organisation, where a special provision permits developing countries to turn to CLs and to produce and import generic drugs in times of a national health crisis.
Hints of a freeze on Thailand s CL policies or even a rollback emerged in March after it was revealed in the local media that the commerce ministry had sent a letter to the public health ministry calling for a halt in issuing more CLs for expensive drugs.
Activists were also troubled by commitments made by the deputy commerce minister when he visited the United States that month, since Bangkok was lobbying to have Washington remove Thailand off the list of countries on a Priority Watch List. This annual list released by the U.S. trade representative identifies countries that violate the IP rights of U.S. multinationals. Thailand has been on this list since 2007.
In fact, this year s U.S. report touched, for the first time, on the thorny issue of CLs in its reference to Thailand. (The U.S. government) encourage(s) Thailand to ensure that the patent system promotes the development and creation of new lifesaving drugs, the May report noted, according to the Bangkok Post newspaper. We urge Thailand to consider ways of addressing its public health challenges while maintaining a stable patent system that promotes investment, research, and innovation.
That would be devastating to the people living with HIV in the country, says Nimit Tien- Udom, director of the AIDS Access Foundation, a local non-governmental organisation lobbying to get cheaper drugs for people infected with the killer disease. People who need the second-line of AIDS drugs will be affected [as will those who will need] the third line of drugs in the future.
People living with HIV in Thailand need to use generic drugs every day, he explained in an interview. This is how they can live longer.
Currently, some 150,000 Thais out of the 600,000 infected with HIV depend on generic anti-retroviral drugs. Of them, between 10,000 and 20,000 need the more potent second line of drugs to prolong their lives.
Thailand, which has recorded some 300,000 deaths due to AIDS, has won universal praise for its successful anti-AIDS campaigns, ranging from preventive measures to public health polices aimed at caring for those living with HIV.
