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Letters to the Editor
Debating Thailand's Drug Patent Policies
Every day, Medecins Sans Frontieres/Doctors Without Borders is confronted with two deadly truths that show how relying on "the profit motive to research and develop new drugs" is a woefully inadequate response to addressing the health needs of people in developing countries.
First, those who cannot afford the price of medicines must simply go untreated. Thailand's recent moves to overcome the barriers posed by patents are an attempt to address that stark reality. When Thailand issued a compulsory license for the HIV/AIDS medicine efavirenz in 2006, health authorities were able to import a generic version at a fraction of the cost, allowing doctors to treat thousands more patients with this important medicine. In doing this, Thailand utilized internationally recognized legal provisions in World Trade Organization rules, not a "loophole" as The Wall Street Journal misstates.
Second, diseases that hit first and foremost the poor, like tuberculosis or sleeping sickness, do not attract research and development. Like any corporation, a drug firm looks to the bottom line. When there is no viable market, there is no investment, and consequently no drugs. Pharmaceutical research and development is costly, and somebody does need to pay. New ways must be devised to stimulate medical innovation, while ensuring that whether patients can actually access life-saving medicines is not an afterthought, but a core concern. Today, even some pharmaceutical companies recognize the weakness of the patent system to deliver for the developing world. The profit motive, which abandons so many to their fate, cannot be the only answer.
Dr. Buddhima Lokuge
U.S. Manager,
Access to Essential Medicines Campaign
Medecins Sans Frontieres
