food for Priyo and other USA lovers....

[srinupi@yahoo.com]

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Activists and health officials from developing countries say it is
unreasonable for a rich country to challenge patents after a handful of
Anthrax cases resulted in four deaths, while its policy is to discourage
poor countries from overriding patents to address the AIDS epidemic
which kills millions.

read the rest of it
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Developing countries are accusing the United States of applying a double
standard to the already contentious issue of pharmaceutical patents in a
clash that will likely dominate international trade talks next week.

The US government's threat last month to override the patent on anthrax
medication Cipro seriously undermined its position against giving
developing countries wide leeway in interpreting international patent
agreements, activists and developing country officials said.

International rules governing pharmaceutical patents, called
Trade-Related Intellectual Property Rights agreements, or TRIPS, will be
scrutinized, and possibly modified, at the November 9-13 meeting of the
World Trade Organization in Doha, Qatar.

Last month, US Health and Human Services secretary Tommy Thompson
threatened to override Bayer's patent unless the German drug giant
lowered the price of the pill. Bayer agreed to a price of 95 cents a
pill, down from $1.77.

Activists and health officials from developing countries say it is
unreasonable for a rich country to challenge patents after a handful of
Anthrax cases resulted in four deaths, while its policy is to discourage
poor countries from overriding patents to address the AIDS epidemic.

"Tommy Thompson may not know it but he became our ally when he
threatened that patent," said Jose Viana, an adviser to Brazil's health
minister. "He did what he thought was in the best interest of his
country," Viana said. "Why can't others do the same?"

In a statement, US Trade Representative Robert Zoellick said Thompson's
actions complied with TRIPS. Drug company executives point out the
patent was never overridden, and reiterate their longstanding position
that patent protection is crucial for further research and development.

They add that poverty and government bureaucracy in developing countries
are much greater barriers to providing drugs than patents, noting that
many products are even patented in poor countries.

"It is creating false hope to say if changes are made to TRIPS you'll
get drugs to poor people," said Mark Grayson, a spokesman for the
Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, the industry trade
group.

The United States has made concessions. It said the world's poorest
countries should have until 2016 to implement patent laws; the current
deadline is 2006. It also proposed a moratorium of at least five years
on WTO challenges to African countries' efforts to fight AIDS and other
pandemics.

Those concessions, however, don't apply to countries such as Brazil,
India and Thailand, where AIDS is widespread. Developing countries
propose a declaration which states: "Nothing in the TRIPS Agreement
shall prevent members from taking measures to protect public health."
The current TRIPS accord does allow for countries to override patents
for special circumstances, but the terms are ambiguous.

Grayson said the United States considers the statement too broad and
would invite abuse. "If that sentence stands, we might as well just take
away the whole TRIPS agreement," he said.

The United States favors language that affirms a country's right to
broadly interpret TRIPS when there is a public health emergency.

A senior trade official said the US delegation is willing to negotiate a
definition of what constitutes such an emergency. Developing countries,
however, seem to be digging in for a fight. Celso Amorim, the Brazilian
ambassador to the WTO, said his country's version of the document was
non-negotiable.

The Dominican Republic's ambassador to the WTO, Federico Cuello Camino,
said, "Everybody except two countries (America and Switzerland) wants
ministers to confirm the interpretation that nothing in TRIPS agreement
prevents governments from taking measures to protect public health."

The United States has been accused of exerting political pressure when
countries attempt to exercise their rights under TRIPS.

US officials filed a complaint against Brazil with the WTO earlier this
year, contending that patent laws designed to help combat AIDS
discriminated against drug imports and violated the rights of
pharmaceutical companies. The complaint was dropped after pressure from
activists.

US officials are often criticized of catering to the pharmaceutical
industry which lobbies heavily and makes large political campaign
contributions. Grayson contends that countries like Brazil and India,
which has a large generic drug industry, are also looking after their
countries' business interests. (AP)


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