AIDS Weekly | October 20, 2003
Canada is studying ways to allow its generic drug manufacturers to supply poor countries with cheap copies of patented drugs, as permitted under a new World Trade Organization (WTO) agreement.
Eric Dagenai, director of the industry ministry's patent policy directorate, said that officials from several departments were studying the WTO pact and Canadian law to determine the best way to proceed.
"They the officials want to move as quickly as possible to ensure that developing countries have access to low-cost drugs to combat pandemics such as HIV, malaria and tuberculosis," Dagenais said.
Stephen Lewis, a Canadian who serves as the U.N. special envoy to Africa on HIV/AIDS, called on Canada to take a leading role in providing generic drugs to AIDS patients in poor countries.
Dagenais was unable to offer a timetable for government action, saying it would take time to properly interpret the complex WTO deal reached in September.
"We want to implement the agreement," he said. "We just want to make sure we understand it, and we've explored everything."
The WTO deal creates a legal loophole allowing the most desperate countries to override patents on expensive drugs and order cheaper copies from generic manufacturers, with patent holders receiving a small payment.
AIDS drugs are a particular concern because they are far too expensive for patients in Africa, where the disease rates are high. The average AIDS patient in the United States takes a combination of drugs that costs about $14,000 each year, far beyond the budgets of developing countries.
Generic versions of those drugs cost a fraction of the U.S. figure.
Canada's patent laws currently prohibit drug producers from copying patented medicines for 20 years, except for national distribution in emergencies.
Dagenais said changing the patent law, which would require Parliament approval, is one option being considered, but he refused to provide further details.
Compromise language in the deal said the new rules should "not be an instrument to pursue industrial or commercial policy objectives."
In a letter to International Trade Minister Pierre Pettigrew in September, the Canadian Generic Pharmaceutical Association said the country's patent laws prevent Canadian producers from participating in the new WTO deal.
Association president Jim Keon said changing the law to allow Canada's participation would answer the humanitarian need and allow Canadian generic drug manufacturers to compete with India and Brazil, which produce generic medicines under less stringent regulations.
This article was prepared by AIDS Weekly editors from staff and other reports.AIDS Weekly:
