AFRO-NETS> Hope at last for free HIV-AIDS treatment in South Africa

[Christian Labadie <CLabadie@t-online.de>]

Hope at last for free HIV-AIDS treatment in South Africa
--------------------------------------------------------

* SABC news - March 8 (see reprint below)
Hope at last for free HIV-Aids treatment in South Africa: Pfizer has 
delivered its first free shipment of the anti-fungal drug, Diflucan, 
to South Africa.
http://www.sabcnews.com/SABCnews/south_africa/health/0,1009,12065,00.html

* Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung - March 8 - page 20
Title: "Suedafrikas Aids-Gruppen erreichen ersten Teilerfolg vor 
Gericht - Es geht um Urheberrechte und billige Arzneien / Bundes-
regierung: Deutsche Firmen sollen ihre Klagen zurueckziehen"

Short translated summary: with the admission of AIDS-sufferers the 
South African case will take a stronger political note forcing the 
pharma industry to provide pricing details. The WTO and the SADC are 
supporting the law voted in 1997 by South African parliament to allow 
parallel imports. The German government asks German pharmaceuticals 
Bayer, Hoechst, Marion Roussel, Boehringer Ingelheim, Schering and 
Merck to withdraw from the case. Kenya will follow with a similar 
law. A second hearing at the SA constitutional court could further 
delay the final judgement until the end of the year. If South Africa 
strictly follows the rules of WTO, this will endanger foreign invest-
ments in the region. Already some pharmaceuticals are menacing of 
leaving South Africa.

* E-Drug/MSF - March 8
Merk discriminatory announcement on protease inhibitor tries to pun-
ish Brazil
http://www.healthnet.org/programs/e-drug-hma/e-drug.200103/msg00049.html 

* E-Drug/MSF - March 8 (see reprint below)
Summary of the status of the South African court case
http://www.healthnet.org/programs/e-drug-hma/e-drug.200103/msg00051.html

--
Source:
http://www.sabcnews.com/SABCnews/south_africa/health/0,1009,12065,00.html
 
Hope at last for free HIV-Aids treatment in SA
March 08, 2001, 07:32 PM

Pharmaceutical company Pfizer has delivered its first free shipment 
of the anti-fungal drug, Diflucan, to South Africa. 

The shipment, of almost 100,000 bottles of Diflucan tablets, forms 
part of the first Aids drug deal between government and a drug firm. 
Pfizer is a member of the Pharmaceutical Manufacturers' Association 
which has taken the government to court over patent rights. However, 
Pfizer is not a named applicant. 

Aids groups have welcomed the arrival of the drugs, but have reserva-
tions about the motive behind this offer. The tablets treat two of 
the most common symptoms of HIV/Aids which are throat thrush and fun-
gal meningitis. At R30 a pill, the state can't afford Diflucan. 

Last year, the Treatment Action Campaign threatened to import cheaper 
generic versions illegally if Pfizer didn't drop its price to under 
R4. A generic version of a Diflucan tablet costs less than R2. The 
drug firm has offered these pills for free until December next year. 
The first shipment arrived in Pietermaritzburg this morning. 

Aids lobby groups have welcomed the drugs, but say there are too many 
restrictions. Only HIV-positive patients in public hospitals will 
benefit from them. Private patients will still have to pay R80 for a 
Diflucan tablet.

Meanwhile, a generic drug manufacturer has asked South Africa for 
permission to sell its own cheap, versions of patented AIDS medica-
tions in the country. The Indian company, Cipla, asked the department 
of trade and industry to grant it a license to produce eight anti-
retroviral medications to treat patients with AIDS. The offer comes 
hot on the heels of pharmaceutical giant Merck Company's announcement 
yesterday that it would sell two key AIDS medications to poor coun-
tries at about one-tenth their US price. 

Article printout courtesy of the South African Broadcasting Corpora-
tion.
Copyright (c) 2001 SABC.

--
Source [reproduced with thanks from E-Drug]:
http://www.healthnet.org/programs/e-drug-hma/e-drug.200103/msg00051.html

E-drug: South African court case (cont.)

A few updates:
1. Several international organizations and governments have said 
strongly that measures such as compulsory licensing and parallel im-
portation of medicines are permitted under the TRIPS Agreement, but 
none have taken a position on the South African legislation per se 
(except WHO, which supported South Africa and then withdrew its sup-
port).

2. The PMA acknowledged in court that parallel importation is allowed 
under South African common law, but still contends that the relevant 
section (15C) is overly broad, allowing the Minister of Health undue 
discretion.  Of course, this argument is hard to make now that it has 
been shown that 15C was drawn largely from a model law proposed by 
the World Intellectual Property Organization.

3. It's too early to say what the judge will say.  Although I firmly 
believe that the government will win, there is always the possibility 
that the ruling could say that some of the provisions are unconstitu-
tional under South African law and so require redrafting.

4. There was a question raised by the judge of whether or not the 
case could even be heard given that the Act had not entered into 
force, but this point will be debated when the case resumes in April.

Toby Kasper 
MSF South Africa
mailto:tobyk@mweb.co.za

--
Reproduced and translated under fair use by
Christian Labadie
mailto:CLabadie@t-online.de

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