Bankok Post | November 12, 1999 | By Anjira Assavanonda
The Government Pharmaceutical Organisation and non-governmental organisations on HIV/Aids will ask the Intellectual Properties Department to consider compulsory licensing for production of didanosine (ddl), an important drug in the treatment of HIV patients.
Compulsory licensing would result in a lowering of the price of this expensive anti-retroviral drug.
The alliance is planning to meet with the department director-general today to claim the right under article 51 of the patents law, which allows a state agency to intervene in the manufacturing of the products if it deemed in the public interest or to prevent or alleviate severe shortages of medicines.
The alliance had consulted the Law Society of Thailand in a bid to end the monopoly on highly priced drugs used for treatment of HIV/Aids.
The alliance comprises the Foundation for Consumers, the Public Health Ministry's Aids Division, the Government Pharmaceutical Organisation (GPO), Medicins Sans Frontieres (Belgium), Alden House, and the Access Aids Foundation.
Saree Ongsomwang, of the Foundation for Consumers, said she also discussed with the Law Society the possibility of revoking the patents of costly drugs, particularly ddl. The patent for didanosine in Thailand is held by Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMS), which markets it as videx.
Ms Saree said the patent should not be given to BMS since ddl was earlier licensed by the US government's National Institute of Health. BMS made only a little change in the formulation of the drug.
She said it needed to be interpreted whether the process of replacing non-active ingredients of ddl is considered a new invention.
Ms Saree said the price of ddl is very high, making it unaffordable for most HIV patients, and BMS has always refused to lower the price, claiming the research and development cost is high.
A representative of the GPO said it has also developed its own process for the production of ddl, but the project had been terminated after BMS received the patent.
"We've done research on ddl since 1987. Every process has been completed and we're even ready to produce the drug, but in 1992 BMS applied for the patent and later received it, so we stopped our own project," said the official.
It was not until early this year that the agency received advice from experts from Medicins Sans Frontieres that it is possible for the Thai government to consider compulsory licensing for the drug.
If the GPO was authorised to produce ddl, the price would be much cheaper, around 25 baht a tablet compared to about 45 baht, he said.
Sak Korsaengrueng, chairman of the Law Society, said the law body will make every effort to support the move.
Mr Sak advised the GPO to immediately submit its petition to the Intellectual Properties Court. Legally, compulsory licensing could be applied in this case.
The issue of revocation of the patent given BMS would require much more study, however.
