Brazil Breaks AIDS Drug Patent
What do you do when there is an AIDS drug on the market that would ease the burden of the disease, but you can't afford it? In the case of Brazil, what you do is break the patent, and buy a cheaper generic from India. Brazil follows Thailand in sending a message to Merck that while they own the intellectual rights to Efavirenz, that knowledge needs to be balanced with the lives of the general population.
Brazil was in talks with Merck to obtain Efavirenz at a reasonable cost, but Merck wasn't willing to lower the price of the drug to what it currently charges Thailand. Under WTO rules, Brazil's move is legal, as countries are allowed to break patents in cases where the drugs are deemed critical to public health. In response, the US government has threatened to revoke Brazil's trading partner status with the US. Brazil meanwhile is contemplating the manufacturing of generic Efavirenz domestically for government distribution to the AIDS victims in the country.
Brazil was in talks with Merck to obtain Efavirenz at a reasonable cost, but Merck wasn't willing to lower the price of the drug to what it currently charges Thailand. Under WTO rules, Brazil's move is legal, as countries are allowed to break patents in cases where the drugs are deemed critical to public health. In response, the US government has threatened to revoke Brazil's trading partner status with the US. Brazil meanwhile is contemplating the manufacturing of generic Efavirenz domestically for government distribution to the AIDS victims in the country.
Comments
Post a Comment