Some 34,000 Thai heart disease sufferers may lose access to cheap drugs because the government has halted imports of the medicine pending a review of its generics programme, an activist said yesterday.
Thailand's previous military government issued so-called compulsory licences, which temporarily suspend patent protections for pricey medicines, allowing production of cheaper copycat versions.
The newly elected government of Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej has launched a review of the programme, alarming health activists that the administration would scrap it.
Before the review was announced, the Government Pharmaceutical Organisation (GPO) had already signed a contract to import one million tablets of a generic version of the popular heart drug Plavix from Indian firm Cadila Health Care.
But Saree Ongsomwang, manager of the Consumer Federation, said that the GPO has not actually imported the pills because it was afraid of legal troubles if the government decided to scrap the generics programme.
"They're afraid that if the government cancels the compulsory license, it could be sued" by French group Sanofi-Aventis, which holds the patent, Saree told AFP.
GPO officials could not be reached for comment.
Saree said that 34,000 patients who had been set to receive the drug were now caught in a lurch, unable to afford to buy the drug at full price.
"Plavix is expensive. Hospitals charge between 80 to 120 baht (2.47 to 3.70 dollars) for one tablet," she said.
The removal of patent protections has angered Western drug giants, who say it is an infringement of their intellectual property rights. Activists have hailed copycat drugs, saying it helps developing nations seeking cheaper medicines for the poor.
Thailand's army-backed government issued compulsory licenses for Plavix along with the AIDS drugs Efavirenz and Kaletra in January 2007.
The decision to allow a generic version of Plavix sparked particular controversy because the blood-thinning treatment is believed to be the world's second best-selling medication.
In addition to Plavix and the AIDS medications, Thailand has also issued compulsory licenses for three cancer drugs -- Docetaxel, Letrozole and Tarceva.
The military government also struck a last-minute deal last month with drug giant Novartis, which agreed to give its leukaemia medicine Glivec to Thai patients for free.