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Published on January 18, 2008

Foundation manager Saree Aongsomwang said: "We expect the committee to revise its judgement to protect the country's interests and the right to access essential drugs to save patients' lives, ahead of the benefit of a big company," she said.

The move follows a decision by the committee last month that Abbott's actions did not contravene trade laws because the new drugs had never been marketed here before and not selling them in Thailand would not restrict trade competition.

The committee also said it had not found any Thai consumers who had bought the drug directly from Abbott's parent company in the United States or people who were using the drug here.

Earlier, Abbott withdrew seven life-saving drugs from sale in Thailand in apparent retaliation for the Surayud government imposing compulsory licensing on its Aids anti-retroviral cocktail Kaletra.

Last April, the foundation and several non-government organisations lobbying for patients' rights to access patented medicines filed a complaint against Abbott with the trade competition committee.

Saree and 80 health advocates gathered in front of the Ministry of Commerce yester-day and presented the petition to the Commerce Minister.

They claimed the pharmaceutical company had violated the Competition Act by restricting access to a medicine readily available internationally.

The act says that a company with any form of business relationship with another entity outside Thailand

shall not restrict the opportunity to purchase goods or services from outside the Kingdom.

Saree said she and her colleagues were now studying legal procedures, and if possible, she would take the case to the Administrative Court also.

She hoped to file a legal petition to the court within the next two weeks.

The Nation