Following Up on Brazil Following Through
To follow up on Brazil’s threat to override patents on AIDS drugs– after some delay, and despite counterthreats from the Bush administration, it looks like Brazil will actually follow through:
A bill to issue to compulsory licenses on three AIDS drugs has been passed by Brazil’s lower house, and will now be considered by the Senate.
“The bill is part of an effort by President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva to increase accessibility to AIDS drugs in the country and limit the dominance of patented drugs. Sixty- three percent of the 1 billion reais ($409 million) the government spends a year to distribute AIDS drugs is used to buy three patented medications, Gouveia said… One of the patented drugs purchased by the government costs 9.7 times more than its production cost.”
As one of the strongest developing countries, Brazil’s case will have significant implications for the ability of developing countries to likewise defend their right to take measures necessary to protect public health.
[…] Filed under: IP-Health Newest update on the Brazil patent-breaking saga: the Brazilian health minister has announced intenti […]
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