Krikorian, Gaëlle --- "The Politics of Patents: Conditions of Implementation of Public Health Policy in Thailand" [2009] ELECD 529; in Haunss, Sebastian; Shadlen, C. Kenneth (eds), "Politics of Intellectual Property" (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2009)

Book Title: Politics of Intellectual Property

Editor(s): Haunss, Sebastian; Shadlen, C. Kenneth

Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing

ISBN (hard cover): 9781848443037

Section: Chapter 3

Section Title: The Politics of Patents: Conditions of Implementation of Public Health Policy in Thailand

Author(s): Krikorian, Gaëlle

Number of pages: 27

Extract:

3. The politics of patents: conditions
of implementation of public health
policy in Thailand
Gaëlle Krikorian

INTRODUCTION

At the end of 2006, the Thai Minister of Public Health, Mongkol Na
Songkhla, made the decision to override patent protection by implement-
ing article 51 of the Thai Patent Act on an HIV/AIDS medication, in
order to generate ­ through import and local production ­ the necessary
generic supplies. In doing so, he made use of a provision called compulsory
licensing. Soon thereafter, Thailand came under attack; hailing from the
American administration, the US Congress, and multinational companies,
the critics were virulent. For Harvey Bale, director of the International
Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers and Associations (IFPMA),
"Compulsory licensing can be a route to commercial abuse and can put
patients at risk" (Kazmin and Jack, 2007).
In recent years, most of the developing country members of the World
Trade Organization (WTO) have implemented the standards of "intellec-
tual property" (IP) protection1 required by the organization. One of the
consequences is 20-year patent protection on medicine, which forbids pro-
duction, importation, or marketing of generics for this duration. Studies
have highlighted the negative impact of this increased IP protection on
access to health products in these countries (Subramanian, 1995; Remiche
and Desterbecq, 1996; Velásquez and Boulet, 1999; Correa, 2000). In
response to these concerns, and in particular in reaction to the interna-
tional mobilization for access to anti-HIV medicines, the issue of how IP in
pharmaceuticals affects access to medicines and ...