Brazil bypasses patent on HIV treatment

Source: Business day

BRASILIA — President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva authorised Brazil at the weekend to break the patent on an HIV/AIDS drug made by Merck and import a generic version from India instead.

It is the first time Brazil has bypassed a patent to acquire cheaper drugs for its HIV/AIDS prevention programme, a step recently taken by Thailand. Other countries, including Canada and Italy, have also used a clause in World Trade Organisation (WTO) rules to flout drug patents in the name of public health.

Talks over the price of Merck’s drug, Efavirenz, broke off on Thursday when the health ministry rejected the New Jersey-based company’s offer to cut its $1,59-a-pill price by 30%. Brazil wanted to pay what Merck charges Thailand, or $0,65 a pill.

“The compulsory licensing of Efavirenz is a legitimate and necessary measure to guarantee that all patients have access to the drug,” Lula da Silva’s office said in a statement.

Representatives of about 200000 HIV/AIDS patients who receive state-sponsored antiretroviral drugs applauded the decision, but drug makers reacted angrily. Merck said it was “profoundly disappointed”, calling the decision a misappropriation of intellectual property that would stifle research.

But Michel Lotrowska, who heads HIV/AIDS treatment efforts in Brazil for Medecins Sans Frontieres, a humanitarian group, said: “This is certainly an important advance in terms of widening access. We are very happy that Brazil is moving in the right direction.”

Brazil’s health ministry has said it plans to import a generic version of Efavirenz from India, paying about 45c a pill, and may also start making its own copy of the drug.

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