Putting a Human Face on CAFTA
The LA Times has an article which starts off its discussion of CAFTA issues by introducing the case of one woman with AIDS whose life is likely to be directly impacted by the agreement.
Opening:
“Carmina Garcia rises before the sun each morning, taking pleasure in the first yellow rays of dawn. But it’s the pink and white tablets that keep her going… Found to be HIV-positive shortly before her husband died of AIDS-related complications last fall, an ailing Garcia was convinced of her own death sentence. But generic drugs have kept the virus in check and restored 60 lost pounds to her frame.
“I now have hope,” said the 52-year-old grandmother and flower vendor, who gets her medicine free from a nonprofit clinic.
Public health experts fear that hope might fade for Garcia and thousands of the region’s chronically ill if the Dominican Republic-Central American Free Trade Agreement, known as CAFTA, is approved this year.”
…
Other key excerpts:
“For many Guatemalans, this is far more than an arcane trade dispute. Competition from generics has helped drive down prices for some antiviral drugs by as much as 98% in Guatemala, where 78,000 people are infected with HIV. That has allowed relief agencies to stretch their budgets to treat more people like Garcia. Even so, it’s estimated that as many as 80% of Guatemalans who need these medicines still lack them.”
…
“…WTO rules permit member countries to override patents and authorize generic production of name-brand medicines that are needed to protect the public health. The mere threat of this so-called compulsory licensing has helped keep drug prices down. However, if CAFTA is approved, experts say, the ability of Central American nations to use that leverage would be severely restricted.”
…
“In addition, under CAFTA, generic-drug manufacturers seeking government approval to produce a drug would be required — for the first five years after a drug is registered — to conduct their own clinical trials rather than piggyback on originators’ work. That would add considerable time and expense, critics say, making it much less attractive for generic makers to pursue the Central American market, which represents less than 1% of drug sales worldwide.”
As some of you may know, concise lexical short-windedness is not one of my fortés; nonetheless, thanks to the editorial assistance of my (computer-lending, fondue-making, all-around awesome) roommate, I have managed to compose a mere three sentence letter to the editor thanking LATimes for the above:
“Many thanks for showing the human cost of CAFTA in your April 22nd article “AIDS Patients See Life, Death Issues in Trade Pact”. Pharmaceutical companies are already amply compensated for their research investment by 20 years of patent protection; the extra five year monopoly demanded under CAFTA is not only unwarranted but disgraceful in light of the lives at stake. US demands go far beyond the requirements of the TRIPS agreement, and the success or failure of Guatemalan resistance will have major consequences for other developing countries struggling to protect public health and promote access to essential medicines.”
…A few other things I could have mentioned, such as that India is one of the countries currently grappling with the data exclusivity issue as well, and that this is an especially big deal since they’re one of the leading world producers of generic drugs… But still, not a bad summation. Maybe I’ll be able to survive law school beating conciseness into me after all…
Comment by Administrator — April 24, 2005 @ 5:57 am
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