Healthy Skepticism Library item: 12489

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Publication type: news

Treerutkuarkul A.
Activists want panel's Aluvia decision reviewed
Bangkok Post 2008 Jan 18

Full text:

Health and consumer activists will ask the Administrative Court to look into the Internal Trade Department’s decision not to take legal action against the US pharmaceutical giant Abbott Laboratories for alleged violations of trade laws.

Abbott cancelled the registration of the heat-stable version of an anti-retroviral drug ritonavir/liponavir with the trade name Aluvia with the Food and Drug Administration for use in Thailand after the government announced a policy to override patents of three Aids and heart drugs last January.

Activists say the move violated sections 25 and 28 of the Trade Competition Act.
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About 50 people living with HIV and AIDS and consumer protection activists rallied at the Commerce Ministry yesterday urging the Internal Trade Department director-general and the panel’s secretary Yanyong Phuangrach to review the decision.

“I was surprised by the panel’s decision. They should have prioritised health problems caused by HIV and AIDS and consider essential life-saving drugs as a special case rather than protecting the benefits of big pharmaceutical business,” said Saree Ongsomwang, manager of the Foundation for Consumers.

She said the network of patients, health activists, and consumer groups would ask the Administrative Court to look into the panel’s ruling in favour of big pharma if the department refuses to revise its ruling.

Ms Saree said during an hour-meeting with Mr Yanyong that Abbott’s removal of Aluvia registration for distribution in Thailand could violate provisions of the constitution regarding fair trade competition and consumer rights protection.

AIDS Access Foundation chairman Nimit Tienudom petitioned the panel to reveal details of its decision concerning Abbott’s removal of Aluvia registration.

He also proposed the appointment of neutral academics to sit on the trade competition panel since most panel members are from corporates and that any decision could be biased.

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Most of the 12,000 HIV-positive people who have developed resistance to first-line anti-retroviral treatment need second-line AIDS drugs, namely Kaletra [heat sensitive ritonavir/lopinavir] and its heat-stable form Aluvia, both produced by Abbott.

The firm offered to cut the price of Kaletra to $1,000 (32,500 baht) per patient per year on condition that the ministry. revoke its compulsory licensing policy.

The ministry rejected the offer and went ahead with bypassing the drug patent.

It has imported the first lot of Aluvia from India’s generic drug maker Matrix Laboratories, enough for 8,000 HIV-positive patients for six months.
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Group wants action against Abbott over drug moves

The Foundation for Consumers has filed a petition with the Ministry of Commerce asking it to revise a decision by its trade competition committee – because it failed to act against Abbott Laboratories for withdrawing life-saving drugs from the Thai market.

The Nation, 18 January 2008

Foundation manager Saree Aongsomwang said: “We expect the committee to revise its judgement to protect the country’s interests and the right to access essential drugs to save patients’ lives, ahead of the benefit of a big company,” she said.

The move follows a decision by the committee last month that Abbott’s actions did not contravene trade laws because the new drugs had never been marketed here before and not selling them in Thailand would not restrict trade competition.

The committee also said it had not found any Thai consumers who had bought the drug directly from Abbott’s parent company in the United States or people who were using the drug here.

Earlier, Abbott withdrew seven life-saving drugs from sale in Thailand in apparent retaliation for the Surayud government imposing compulsory licensing on its AIDS anti-retroviral cocktail Kaletra [ritonavir/lopinavir].

Last April, the foundation and several non-government organisations lobbying for patients’ rights to access patented medicines filed a complaint against Abbott with the trade competition committee.

Saree and 80 health advocates gathered in front of the Ministry of Commerce yester-day and presented the petition to the Commerce Minister.

They claimed the pharmaceutical company had violated the Competition Act by restricting access to a medicine readily available internationally.
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Saree said she and her colleagues were now studying legal procedures, and if possible, she would take the case to the Administrative Court also.

She hoped to file a legal petition to the court within the next two weeks.