Replies to post #1069 on GenoMed Inc. (GMED)

[pioneertx]

Way to go Big Pharma II ! Poor people dying b/c pharma co's.

'Big pharma' slammed over drugs monopoly
1.26, Tue Nov 14 2006

http://www.itv.com/news/world_b1e050f8bc1121c4da24b4bc329df9fc.html

Poor people are dying needlessly because global pharmaceutical giants continue to monopolise drugs for diseases like cancer and Aids, Oxfam claims.

Rich countries - the US, in particular - are "bullying" developing countries to protect their pharmaceutical products, the charity claims.

It said these countries are reneging on their promise to improve public health in developing countries by adopting "selfish" protectionist policies.

Five years ago, the Doha Declaration pledged to put health before profits. It allows developing countries to access generic versions of patented drugs - which are significantly cheaper - under World Trade Organisation rules, known as TRIPS.

But Oxfam said conditions in developing countries have become significantly worse since 2001.

And according to the World Health Organisation, 74 per cent of Aids medicine is still under a monopoly, 77 per cent of Africans have no access to Aids treatment and 30 per cent of the world has no access to essential medicines.

Oxfam's head of its Make Trade Fair campaign, Celine Charveriat, accused rich countries of "breaking the spirit" of the declaration.

She said: "That hasn't happened. We've gone backwards. People are still suffering or dying needlessly.

"Global health statistics are grim but the US continues to negotiate trade deals with even stricter rules that limit how a country can use public health safeguards."

And EU countries fare little better, she said, citing the example of India fighting Swiss company Novartis to produce a generic anti-cancer drug similar to the company's drug Glivec.

Novartis is trying to repeal a law which allows Indian companies to make the generic drug at £1,400 a year per patient rather than the £14,000 which its drug would cost.

Ms Charveriat said: "If Novartis is successful, it could jeopardise India's generic export industry. India is the world's leading supplier of inexpensive generic medicines to developing countries, with approximately 67 per cent of its exports going to developing countries."

Meanwhile, a similar battle is ongoing between US drugs giant Pfizer which produces heart disease drug Norvasc and the Philippine government which has developed its own patented version, almost 90 per cent cheaper.