Wednesday, May 9, 2007

Thailand gets icy reception

Dr. Pornchai Matangkasombut has been in an awkward position this week as a high-ranking representative of Thailand at the BIO convention.
Thailand wants to build drug research and development capabilities and attract more foreign investment. But the Bush administration's trade representatives on April 30 put Thailand on a ``priority watch list.'' Thailand's offense: breaking international patents and licensing generic equivalents of AIDS drugs sold by Abbott Laboratories and Merck & Co. Inc.

We spoke with Matangkasombut, president of Mahidol University, this morning in the Thailand pavilion on the convention floor. Above him were signs that gave notice for an avian flu symposium to be held in Bangkok, boasted of a large population suitable for clinical trials, and described a large population of post-traumatic stress disorder patients who survived the 2004 tsunami.

But Matangkasombut lamented that Thailand has been rebuked by the White House and by biotechnology and pharmaceutical manufacturers in the West, including Abbott, Merck, and others in attendance at the convention.

``No one takes this lightly,'' he said. ``Thailand is not a banana republic, and Thailand is not doing compulsory licensing of AIDS drugs for fun.''
Thailand's licensing program is only for AIDS drugs purchased by the government to treat the country's AIDS victims, he said. The AIDS Healthcare Foundation, an advocacy group, said Thailand took its action on one of the drugs, Abbott's Kaletra, because the government could not secure a discount from the drug maker. The discount would have knocked the cost from $2,200 to $1,000 a year, the foundation said.

By the way, Brazil also recently decided to break a Merck patent for an AIDS drug. Brazil is not listed in this year's BIO convention program.
(By Christopher Rowland, Globe staff)

Posted by Boston Globe Business Team at 12:01 PM

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