EU to improve Third World access to cheap medicines

BRUSSELS – The European Union plans to help makers of generic drugs sell low-cost AIDS drugs to poor countries, along with medicines to fight deadly diseases such as tuberculosis and malaria, the EU’s trade chief said on Friday.

Under a proposal by the bloc’s executive Commission, EU companies would be allowed to produce patented medicines for export to Third World countries in need of a particular drug. The aim is to reduce the price of some key pharmaceutical products in developing countries by up to 98 per cent, it says.”There has been a big reduction in price for AIDS drugs over the last few years but it’s still very expensive for developing countries,” EU Trade Commissioner Pascal Lamy said.”We feel this is a question of principle,” he told a news conference.”We’ve been in close co-operation with the European pharmaceutical industry on this issue.”He cited AIDS as a prime example of where Third World states might benefit from more access to cheap medicines.The Commission has allocated more than 1,1 billion euros over the 2003-2006 period to fight AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis – three diseases that kill some six million people a year, particularly in the world’s poorest countries.EU pharmaceutical companies which wanted to export medicines to the Third World would apply to their national authorities for a “compulsory licence” from a patent holder who held exclusive rights over the production and sale of a specific product.The Commission’s proposal, which must be approved by EU governments and the European Parliament, is Europe’s response to a 2003 deal reached by the World Trade Organisation.The 148-member trade group agreed to find a solution to give Third World states with no manufacturing capacity the chance to receive generic medicines from other countries.-Nampa-ReutersThe aim is to reduce the price of some key pharmaceutical products in developing countries by up to 98 per cent, it says.”There has been a big reduction in price for AIDS drugs over the last few years but it’s still very expensive for developing countries,” EU Trade Commissioner Pascal Lamy said.”We feel this is a question of principle,” he told a news conference.”We’ve been in close co-operation with the European pharmaceutical industry on this issue.”He cited AIDS as a prime example of where Third World states might benefit from more access to cheap medicines.The Commission has allocated more than 1,1 billion euros over the 2003-2006 period to fight AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis – three diseases that kill some six million people a year, particularly in the world’s poorest countries.EU pharmaceutical companies which wanted to export medicines to the Third World would apply to their national authorities for a “compulsory licence” from a patent holder who held exclusive rights over the production and sale of a specific product.The Commission’s proposal, which must be approved by EU governments and the European Parliament, is Europe’s response to a 2003 deal reached by the World Trade Organisation.The 148-member trade group agreed to find a solution to give Third World states with no manufacturing capacity the chance to receive generic medicines from other countries.-Nampa-Reuters