27 June 2005Yahoo News
Brazilian Health Minister Humberto Costa said he was aiming to halve the cost of a key HIV / AIDS medicine by breaking the patent of the Abbott Laboratories drug under an international agreement.
"The price paid by the Brazilian government to purchase 'Kaletra' represents a yearly cost of 2,630 dollars per patient -- currently 23,000 patients use this drug in their treatment," Costa told journalists on Monday.
"This price is considered exhorbitant, because studies of the World Health Organisation (WTO) showed that the fair price, including already a considerable margin of profit, should range from 480 dollars to 540 per patient per year, considering large-scale production," he added.
The minister was in Geneva for a meeting of the United Nations body coordinating the fight against the disease, UNAIDS Costa had announced the decision in Brazil Saturday, invoking a compulsory licensing facility allowed by the World Trade Organisation and the WTO for developing countries under threat from HIV/AIDS.
Brazil intends to have a cheaper generic copy of the patented drug produced locally by a state-owned company for its national anti-AIDS treatment programme.
If the plan goes through, it would be the first time that Brazil would set aside patent rights for an anti-retroviral drug by decree, instead of reaching a voluntary licensing deal with a pharmaceutical company, the minister said.
Brazil is currently holding talks with two other companies, US-based Merck Sharp and Dohme, and Gilead, about securing two of their anti-retroviral drugs for cheaper prices, Costa said.
As the notice to Abbott was formally served Monday, leaving a 10-day period for negotiation, Costa insisted that the US-based drugs company had shown little willingness to reach a voluntary agreement.
"It must be said that Abbott, when consulted by the Ministry of Health about the possibility of conceding a voluntary license, was emphatic in declaring that it didn't have any interest in negotiating," the Brazilian official said.
Abbott Laboratories said in a statement Saturday that it "remains willing to work with the government to find a mutually agreeable solution".
"The discovery and development of innovative new treatments depends on the reasonable return on investment for existing treatments," the Chicago-based drugs maker said.
"There are significant consequences for patients, such as the development of viral resistance, that must be considered when evaluating unproven, alternative formulations of HIV medications," it added.
Abbott said it sold Kaletra to Brazil "for the lowest price in the world" outside of Africa and UN-designated least developed countries.
Costa said it would take at about one year to set up production facilities and test a generic copy of the drug for efficacy and safety, and a voluntary agreement with Abbott would be preferable.
