{"id":2635,"date":"2007-04-04T12:07:09","date_gmt":"2007-04-04T11:07:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/moomango.co.uk\/htb\/?p=2635"},"modified":"2013-09-20T17:40:52","modified_gmt":"2013-09-20T17:40:52","slug":"abbott-situation-worsens-in-thailand","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/i-base.info\/htb\/2635","title":{"rendered":"Abbott situation worsens in Thailand"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the last issue of HTB we reported the ongoing issue of access to drugs produced by the US manufacturer Abbott Laboratories for patients in Thailand.<\/strong> [1]<\/p>\n

The discussions between the Abbott and the Thai government had failed to resolve a price agreement suitable for both parties, and the Thai government announced that it would issue a compulsory license, applicable under the TRIPS trade agreement, to manufacture a generic version of the Meltrex formulation of lopinavir\/r (Kaletra). In response, Abbott announced that they would not sell Maltrex Kaletra in Thailand.<\/p>\n

This generated criticism against the company\u0092s decision, including from Medecins sans Frontiers (MSF) in a press release issued on 15 March. [2]<\/p>\n

An editorial comment in the 24 March issue of the Lancet reported the case, and criticised WHO\u0092s Director-General, Margaret Chan for her comments that sided with the pharmaceutical industry (although followed by a swift retraction) rather than supporting the critical importance of generic antiretrovirals in treating the majority of people affected by HIV globally. [3]<\/p>\n

Thailand is both in need of second-generation regimens for treatment experienced patients, and heat stable non-refrigerated options, as temperatures are commonly over 40 degrees C.<\/p>\n

The situation has now escalated with Abbott deciding to restrict access to a wider range of its other medicines by withdrawing all pending drug registration applications in Thailand.<\/p>\n

In response, the Thai network of people living with HIV\/AIDS (TNP+) in solidarity with a broad alliance of other NGOs and HIV\/AIDS activists have called on a global boycott of Abbott products (where alternatives are available), and for other action around the world.<\/p>\n

For further information about the campaign visit
\nhttp:\/\/www.petitiononline.com\/bcottabb\/petition.html<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

Comment<\/h3>\n

The Thai government can probably afford to settle at a higher price and Abbott can certainly afford to settle at a lower price (the latest figure of $2000 US per year is still significantly higher than the lowest price of $500 per year for the worlds poorest countries). This issue is likely to continue to run with the health of HIV-positive people held in the balance.<\/strong><\/p>\n

It is difficult to understand why Abbott will not take a similar approach to other pharmaceutical companies involved in access to HIV medicines by agreeing licenses for generic production of its drugs in countries where HIV is a leading health issue.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Currently over 100,000 HIV-positive people receive treatment in Thailand using the governments fixed dose generic combination of d4T\/3TC\/nevirapine, approximately 20% of who are now in need of a second-line combination.<\/strong><\/p>\n

References:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Thailand issues compulsory license to manufacture lopinavir\/r: WHO criticised for challenging this essential access to treatment\u0092 HIV Treatment Bulletin January\/February 2007.
    \nhttp:\/\/www.i-base.info\/htb\/2637<\/a><\/li>\n
  2. MSF press release, 15 March 2007. MSF Denounces Abbott\u0092s Move to Withhold Medicines From People in Thailand.
    \nhttp:\/\/www.msf.org.hk\/news\/press_detail.php?id=468<\/a><\/li>\n
  3. Cawthorne P et al. WHO must defend patients\u0092 interests, not industry. The Lancet, 24 March 2007. Vol 369 No. 9566; 974-975.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    In the last issue of HTB we reported the ongoing issue of access to drugs produced by the US manufacturer Abbott Laboratories for patients in Thailand. [1] The discussions between the Abbott and the Thai government had failed to resolve …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[38],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2635","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-treatment-access"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/i-base.info\/htb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2635","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/i-base.info\/htb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/i-base.info\/htb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/i-base.info\/htb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/i-base.info\/htb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2635"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/i-base.info\/htb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2635\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/i-base.info\/htb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2635"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/i-base.info\/htb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2635"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/i-base.info\/htb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2635"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}