"We fully support Thailand's decision. What Thailand is doing is exactly what WTO members agreed in 2001," said Ellen Hoen from the Nobel Peace Prize-winning Medecins Sans Frontieres at a news conference in Bangkok.

"We are encouraged by Thailand as we see across the globe countries struggling with an increase in drug prices," she said.

Meanwhile, the American Embassy in Bangkok said the US government was not contesting the Thai government's right to issue compulsory licences where it deemed necessary.

However, the embassy's spokesperson said: "We would strongly urge, as a matter of sound public policy, that senior Thai officials meet with relevant stakeholders, including the patent-holders, to discuss Thai government concerns. Those concerns might well be resolved in a mutually satisfactory manner through dialogue."

Thai officials told The Nation on condition of anonymity that they were concerned that the dispute could create political disputes between the two

governments if the issue was

not settled in a timely and appropriate manner. They pointed to the American pharmaceutical lobby, deemed quite influential in the US.

James Love from the US-based Knowledge Ecology International, which promotes the access of poor countries to Aids and other drugs, also hailed Thailand's decision at the yesterday's press conference.

"Thailand's government is trying to do something for people who need treatment ... We expect Thailand will issue other compulsory licences for medicines in the future," Love said.

A WTO deal in 2001 allows nations affected by diseases such as HIV/Aids, malaria and tuberculosis a temporary exemption from international laws protecting intellectual property rights.

Thailand's Ministry of Public Health announced last Friday that it had approved generic versions of the anti-Aids drug Kaletra and the blockbuster heart drug Plavix.

In November Thailand also decided to allow generic versions of the HIV/Aids drug Efavirenz.

The decision to break the patent on Plavix, sold by France-based Sanofi-Aventis and its US partner Bristol Myers-Squibb, marks the first time Thailand has targeted a widely used drug instead of an Aids medication.

Plavix is the world's second-most prescribed medication, with sales of US$5.9 billion (Bt204 billion) in 2005.

Thailand's top pharmaceutical group, which comprises 38 drug firms, has slammed the government's approval for generic

drugs, saying that it seriously

damaged the nation's image in global business.

The Nation, AFP