Ottawa must act swiftly to amend the Patent Act to allow Canadian manufacturers of generic drugs to make and export affordable, life-saving drugs to developing countries, UN special envoy Stephen Lewis says.
“There is no turning back,” Lewis said during an October news conference organized by Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), the Canadian HIV/AIDS legal network and the Canadian Auto Workers. “Hopes and expectations have been raised around the world.”
Lewis said he was “amazed, stunned and excited” by the federal cabinet's speedy pledge that Canada will change its legislation. That move was also described as “an important step for Canada's legal obligations to support human rights and advance health,” by the legal network's Richard Elliott, a founding member of the Global Treatment Action Group.
During the last week of September, Industry Minister Allan Rock and Trade Minister Pierre Pettigrew threw their support behind the plan, which became possible in late August after the World Trade Organization (WTO) agreed to relax international rules on patent protection to make prescription drugs affordable for developing nations. Prime Minister-to-be Paul Martin also backs the plan.
Rx&D, the organization representing Canada's brand-name pharmaceutical companies, welcomed the WTO decision and indicated that it is working with federal officials to determine the best way to implement change. Just 2 years ago, the international pharmaceutical industry initiated legal action to block South Africa's attempts to bring cheaper patented AIDS drugs into that country, although the action was withdrawn after widespread adverse publicity.
The World Health Organization recently set a goal of having 3 million people in the developing world receiving treatment for HIV/AIDS by 2005. In Africa, only about 75 000 of an eligible 4.5 million people are currently being treated, Lewis noted, and a key reason is cost. Patent-protected drugs to treat the disease cost between US$8000 and $15 000 per person annually in developed countries, but a regime comprising generic versions — if it were available — would cost only hundreds of dollars. (Developed nations would still be subject to the 20-year patent rules. The cheaper generic drugs would be produced only for export to developing nations that do not have the capacity to produce their own generic products.)
If Canada, with the world's eighth-largest economy, steps up and eases rules concerning the production and export of generic drugs, it will “stiffen the resolve” of other nations, said Dr. James Orbinski of MSF. He said support from other countries is required because Canada can't address the need on its own.
A speedy move by Canada could make a big difference, since other WTO agreements are now taking effect under which countries such as India have agreed to provide patent protection for prescription drugs. Lewis said this will lead to a reduction in the availability of generic drugs.
For Orbinski and Elliott, the recent WTO decision is the culmination of a 5-year battle to ensure access to quality generic drugs in the developing world. “Today we have clear galvanizing leadership and we are beginning to overcome key hurdles,” Orbinski said.
The promised initiative may go some way toward addressing the dilemma Orbinski faced 3 years ago, when a dying AIDS patient in Africa asked him: “Why do you come with only kindness and nice words, when I need more?” — Ann Silversides, Toronto
Figure. Can cheaper drugs halt HIV's rising toll? Photo by: WHO