Indonesia on breaking the Tamiflu patent: deja vu?
Maya Lestari urges the Indonesian government to break the Roche [sic: Gilead] patent on Tamiflu.
-->Lestari notes that Indonesia previously broke patents on HIV drugs-->
In her last days in office, then president Megawati Soekarnoputri signed a presidential decree on compulsory licensing. The decree basically dictated that, in the event of a public health emergency, the government reserved the right to disregard patent protection and produce (or have someone produce on its behalf) the drug.
Interestingly, within a month of the decree's issuance, the then-minister of health Sujudi applied the ruling to the production of two anti-HIV drugs. With the approval of the ministers of finance and health, the patent rights to the antiretroviral drugs were legally infringed, the first time ever in Indonesia for anti-HIV drugs. The government asked a state-owned pharmaceutical firm (Kimia Farma) to manufacture the drugs on its behalf and marketed the drugs at a much reduced price.
The pharma companies whose patent rights had been infringed were, of course, not happy.
--> Lestari concludes:
In anticipation of a possible global pandemic, the Ministry of Health should capitalize on Presidential Decree 2004 on Government Licensing to mass produce oseltamivir locally. One of the state-owned pharmaceutical companies would be able to import bulk raw materials, manufacture and market oseltamivir for the government without fear of patent infringement and legal prosecution.
-->Lestari notes that Indonesia previously broke patents on HIV drugs-->
In her last days in office, then president Megawati Soekarnoputri signed a presidential decree on compulsory licensing. The decree basically dictated that, in the event of a public health emergency, the government reserved the right to disregard patent protection and produce (or have someone produce on its behalf) the drug.
Interestingly, within a month of the decree's issuance, the then-minister of health Sujudi applied the ruling to the production of two anti-HIV drugs. With the approval of the ministers of finance and health, the patent rights to the antiretroviral drugs were legally infringed, the first time ever in Indonesia for anti-HIV drugs. The government asked a state-owned pharmaceutical firm (Kimia Farma) to manufacture the drugs on its behalf and marketed the drugs at a much reduced price.
The pharma companies whose patent rights had been infringed were, of course, not happy.
--> Lestari concludes:
In anticipation of a possible global pandemic, the Ministry of Health should capitalize on Presidential Decree 2004 on Government Licensing to mass produce oseltamivir locally. One of the state-owned pharmaceutical companies would be able to import bulk raw materials, manufacture and market oseltamivir for the government without fear of patent infringement and legal prosecution.
posted by Lawrence B. Ebert at 4:41 PM
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