Healthy Skepticism Library item: 13333

Warning: This library includes all items relevant to health product marketing that we are aware of regardless of quality. Often we do not agree with all or part of the contents.

Publication type: news

Yasir S.
Boycott Of Drug Major: Lacklustre response from docs
newindpress.com 2008 Mar 16
http://www.newindpress.com/news.asp?id=IER20080315235853

Full text:

KOZHIKODE: Days before the break of New Year, physician bodies and health activists across the country had called for a boycott of the products of a drug major in protest against its decision to go ahead with a case in Indian Patent Appellate Body (IPAB), which could prove detrimental to the interests of hapless and poor patients in the Third World countries.

Though the boycott call was taken up in right earnest in the rest of the country, it failed to find any appeal among the doctor fraternity in the state, though some ethical health groups tried to propagate the message.

The campaign was against the drugs sold by Novartis, a Swiss multinational pharmaceutical company which had filed two petitions in Chennai High Court to get patent for the beta crystalline form of Imatinib Mesylate, a very effective medicine used in the treatment of ChronicMyeloid Leukaemia.

In addition to Novartis, several Indian companies like NATCO, Cipla, Ranbaxy and Hetero produce and market the drug at a cheaper rate.

The protestors say that if the patent is granted to Novartis, Indian companies would be forced to stop production which will affect thousands of patients who depend on Indian medicines, as the treatment with Gleevac costs Rs 1.2 lakh per month.

Five groups are part of the campaign including Drug Action Forum- Karnataka (DAF-K), the group which started the maiden protest and Jana Swasthya Abhiyan which took up the issue nation-wide.

“The doctors have become professionally conservative and change in them are palpable with lack of coordination and active involvement in such issues,” said Dr B. Iqbal, national convenor of Jana Swasthya Abhiyan.

He pointed out that these days many of the drug firms are sponsoring events organised by doctors very openly.

IMA state secretary Dr R Ramesh said that the IMA has always been against the move of the company but on boycott call discussions are inconclusive.

Dr Gopal Dabade, president of DAF- K said that the forum did communicate with many doctors through the IMA and urged them not to prescribe Voveran, a painkiller, and Calcium Sandoz, two of the most popular products of Novartis.

“Many doctors had responded positively and agreed to sign the boycott campaign,” he added.

“Though Gleevec was originally manufactured by Novartis, the Imatinib Mesylate is not a new molecule and converting the already existing drug in to crystalline form is not an innovative step,” he said.

Rajan Kalam, an activist of People’s Initiative for Health Rights, opined that the doctors here are taking a negative attitude towards the campaign.

“Outside Kerala, the doctors’ circles are so strong and here such a trend is almost absent,” he said.

If anyone wants to add their opinion and support the campaign just log onto www.novartisboycott.org and leave the comments.