Patents Vs Patients in the Fight Against AIDS

[Guest guest]

Patents vs. Patients in the Fight Against AIDS

By Chinkholal Thangsing, M.D. and K.K. Abraham

The global community has no hope of ending the AIDS pandemic as long

as the interests of drug companies are rated higher than the lives of

people in low- and middle-income countries.

The innovations of the pharmaceutical industry have transformed AIDS,

at least in the western world, from a virtual death sentence into a

chronic, treatable disease. Our aim is not to destroy the geese that

lay the golden eggs. However, a balance must—and can— be struck

between protecting profits and protecting people's lives. Drug

companies are in the business of protecting profits. It is incumbent

upon the citizens of the global community to protect people's lives.

AIDS activists have succeeded in compelling drug companies to lower

prices and allow generic versions of lifesaving drugs to be sold in

Africa and in other parts of the developing world. This has

significantly increased access and saved millions of lives.

But there is another disaster looming ahead: Urgently-needed second-

line AIDS treatment, a newer class of drugs that is a life line for

patients developing resistance to current treatment, are priced far

out of reach for people in low- and middle-income countries—where

over 95% of people living with HIV/AIDS reside. In fact, low-income

countries pay up to 12 times more for second-line treatments than

they do for first-line drugs and middle-income countries pay up to 36

times more. Many people being treated for HIV/AIDS may develop

resistance to their current regimen and will require these newer,

second-line treatments to continue to stay alive.

But, pharmaceutical companies hold tight patent control on over 74%

of drugs called protease inhibitors—the key components of second-line

AIDS treatment. Prices of second-line treatment will remain at

extremely high levels as long as there is negligible generic

competition, from nations like India, for the few specialized drugs

for second-line treatment. The atmosphere of generic competition that

created widespread access to AIDS drugs does not exist when it comes

to the production of these newer medicines. The millions of people

currently being treated successfully will be condemned to death

without access to affordable second-line drugs.

Since India's generics manufacturing companies are the primary

supplier of cheap AIDS drugs to most of the developing world, it

would follow that India would be perfectly poised to deliver cheap,

generic versions of this next wave of treatment, right? Not so.

Strengthened Indian patent laws, combined with stricter patent

enforcement by multinational pharmaceutical companies on its newest,

most effective AIDS drugs, is keeping second-line treatment from

being cheaply produced in India. This not only keeps these drugs out

of reach for Indians in need, but also dries up the supply of

effective lifesaving treatment for people in need all over the

world.

The solution? Brand-name drug companies must offer full and open

voluntary licenses to countries with a domestic pharmaceutical

industry, like India, in order to spur generic competition and lower

the cost of second-line AIDS treatment to a level that includes the

cost of production, distribution and a reasonable profit for the

companies that produce the drugs. This will dramatically increase

access to second-line treatment and mean the difference between life

and death for millions of people living with HIV around the world.

We also call on the Indian generic drug-manufacturing industry to

choose patient lives over profits by lowering the cost of lifesaving

AIDS drugs for Indians in need. Currently, Indian generics companies

charge up to twice as much for its lifesaving AIDS drugs in India, as

they do in Africa. With an estimated 5.7 million people infected,

India now has the most people living with HIV in the world, but seems

the least effective at getting drugs to its own people who need

them. In fact, a recent report revealed that only 1 in 14 Indians in

need of AIDS treatment are receiving it: a dismal record—and a cruel

irony, considering the starring role that Indian generics

manufacturers have played in increasing access in Africa.

When it comes to doing battle against the global AIDS epidemic, every

weapon must be made available. The cost of treatment will continue

to be an obstacle, as long as patents—and profits—come before

patients. What good does it do to make lifesaving products, if drug

companies cannot provide them to the people whose lives need saving?

We believe a balance between profits and patients is possible, but

will only happen if aggressively pursued by all stakeholders.

The global community must decide: Are we willing to let people in

lower and middle-income countries die to protect patents and

excessive drug company profit? With millions of lives at stake, we

hope the answer is a thunderous and resounding No.

________________

Chinkholal Thangsing, M.D. is Asia Pacific Bureau Chief for AIDS

Healthcare Foundation, operator of free AIDS treatment clinics in the

US, Africa, Latin America/Caribbean, and Asia, including three in

India (in Mysore, Koppal & New Delhi). K.K. Abraham is the General

Secretary of the Indian Network of Positive People (INP+

e-mail: <chinkholal.thangsing@...>