Thailand - Compulsory Licensing Will Continue

The Public Health Minister, Chavarat Charnvirakul (pictured right), has declared that compulsory licensing of essential medicines will continue in Thailand, despite ongoing pressure from international pharmaceutical companies.

The announcement comes after months of speculation as to whether the health policy would continue, with the election of a new government in April this year. And it follows reports of lobbying of the government by Sanofi-Aventis to purchase its product.

Wichai Chokewiwat, Government Pharmaceutical Organisation (GPO) chairman, is reported as stating that Sanofi had offered to compensate the GPO by selling its products at a discount in Thailand.

Meanwhile, The Nation has reported today that a group of 500 HIV/AIDS activists and patients have challenged Sanofi-Aventis to take its claims to the Central Administrative Court. The challenge is to put in a public forum claims made in a confidential letter to the Commerce Minister requesting a review of the enforcement of compulsory licensing of docetaxel (for which a licence was issued in January this year).

The president of the Thai NGO Coalition on AIDS, Supattra Nakapiew, is reported as stating "We want Sanofi Aventis to file a lawsuit with the Central Administrative Court because we want this case to be a test for the enforcement of compulsory licensing of life-saving drugs in the future."

Before the end of this month, a joint committee meeting of senior officials from the Public Health Ministry, Commerce Ministry and Foreign Ministry together with other interested parties (including civil society organisations and the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, PhRMA) will decide on solutions to access to essential medicines in Thailand and the best means by which these can be delivered.

Geneva Workshop - Health and Patent Flexibilities

The WTO Workshop on TRIPS and Public Health in Geneva earlier this month included participation from 19 officials of developing countries.

Part of the WTO's technical cooperation and capacity-building activities, this workshop was particularly interesting for its emphais on the use of flexibilities in TRIPS for public health purposes.

In particular, the workshop delivered training on the August 2003 and December 2005 decisions, the so-called "paragraph 6 system" of compulsory licensing.

Participants came from including Argentina, Brazil, Cuba, the Gambia, Hong Kong China, India, Indonesia, Iran, Jamaica, Malaysia, Mali, Namibia, Peru, Philippines, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Turkey, Vietnam and Zambia.

Indonesia, a participant at the workshop, has been at the forefront of recent initiatives in public health. The country is maintaining its stance against participation in the World Health Organisation (WHO) virus-sharing programme, refusing to share bird flu virus samples unless material transfer agreements can place conditions on the subsequent vaccine, including conditions on commercial use, pricing and the creation of intellectual property rights. The New Scientist reports that Jakarta has shared just two specimens this year, both from the tourist resort of Bali.

Public health has been on the agenda for a lot of the WTO's cooperation events recently, including a workshop in the Asia-Pacific in July this year.

Canada - First Notification of Compulsory Licence to Export

On Thursday, Canada became the first country to notify the TRIPS Council of the World Trade Organization (WTO) under Paragraph 2(c) of the Decision of 30 August 2003 on the Implementation of Paragraph 6 of the Doha Declaration of the TRIPS Agreement and Public Health.

The notification follows the earlier notification to import made by Rwanda, 17 July, under paragraph 2(a). This earlier notification informed the WTO of the intention to import 260 000 packs of the fixed-dosed combination treatment for HIV-AIDS, TriAvir. Canada's notification to export the medicine to Rwanda is required under the Decision of 30 August 2003 and, according to the WTO news item, "completes the circle."

Canada's notification under paragraph 2(c) fulfils the requirements under that provision to provide to the TRIPS Council relevant infromation on the compulsory licence. As such, the notification announces the authorisation for the medicine to be produced and exported to Rwanda, the conditions governing the compulsory licence and the medicine covered by the licence. Also required is the website of the company licensed to produce the generic version where posts on quantities and other relevant information are to be published before export occurs.

Future notifications of exports will be published on the WTO's dedicated page. Meanwhile, the UK Intellectual Property Office (IPO) has launched its informal consultation on the proposed changes to the UK Patents Act 1977 to give effect to the Communities' implementation of the Decision on Paragraph 6 on compulsory licences and supplementary protection certificates - Regulation (EC) No 816/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 May 2006 on compulsory licensing of patents relating to the manufacture of pharmaceutical products for export to countries with public health problems (Compulsory Licences Regulation). The deadline for responses is 31 October.