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Published on February 14, 2008

Deputy Prime Minis-ter and Commerce Minister Ming-khwan Sangsuwan will today discuss with the ministers of public health and foreign affairs about revising the decision of the previous government to break patents on three foreign cancer drugs.

Mingkhwan was asked by Prime Minister Samak Sunda-ravej on Tuesday to consult with other ministries on Thailand's policy to impose compulsory licensing (CL) on certain essential medications.

Samak did not want Public Health Minister Chaiya Sasom-sab to take the issue into his own hands when he announced that he would revoke the previous government's policy to enforce compulsory licensing on three cancer drugs.

Chaiya said compulsory licensing was not worthwhile because it would serve only 800 patients across the country while Thailand could face retaliation from her trading partners.

"We could save Bt500 million from buying generic drugs after announcing the enforcement of compulsory licensing but we will lose income from international trade with the US," he said.

Compulsory licensing has become a delicate trade issue because it allows countries to use the patents of drug firms to produce cheap versions for their people in case of hardship or emergency.

The Surayud Chulanont government revived compulsory licensing for Aids and cancer treatments, drawing the ire of international pharmaceutical giants and also the US and Europe.

Dr Mongkol na Songkhla, the former health minister who championed compulsory licensing, said the new government should consider enforcing compulsory licensing because it would benefit the public and save lives.

If the current government cancels compulsory licensing, the country would not have enough funds to buy the essential drugs, such as cancer drugs, to save patients due to their high cost, he said.

About 20 representative of Aids and cancer patients have jointly requested the government to extend CL on four drugs.

They marched to the Commerce Ministry to meet with Mingkwan.

Saichon Lim, a leader of a consumer protection network, said that maintaining CL would allow patients to access cheaper drugs. The special drugs are out of reach of low-income earners and CL was the only way to allow them to enjoy good yet affordable treatment.

For instance, one dose of cancer medicine costs Bt25,000. CL will force the price down to Bt1,800 per shot. Thailand has 50,000 new cancer patients per year, equal to the average number of deaths.

Thailand is likely to remain on the US' Priority Watch List (PWL), given its policy uncertainties over compulsory licensing, according to a report of the International Intellectual Property Alliance (IIPA).

IIPA last Friday submitted its recommendations to the US Trade Representative in the annual "Special 301" review of copyright piracy. IIPA's report discusses copyright protection, enforcement and market access problems in 51 countries, of which it recommends that 43 be placed on the appropriate USTR watch list.

IIPA also recommended maintaining Thailand's trade status in the PWL. It also designated Thailand as an out-of-cycle country that would be subject to further notice for any progress on IP suppression, which should include the compulsory licensing issue.

The report gave mixed marks on obtaining enforcement against copyright violations in Thailand. IIPA also said Thailand's estimated trade losses due to copyright infringements were expected to increase to US$219.7 million (Bt7.22 billion) in 2006, from $355.9 million in 2005.

Included in the piracy damage are records and music at about $20.7 million, business software at $164 million and books at $35 million. But entertainment software and motion picture losses from piracy in the country have not been advised in this report.

The USTR will announce its annual revision to its IPR lists this April. It has categorised 51 trading partners into four main groups - priority foreign country (PFC), priority watch list, watch list (WL) and monitoring list.

Puangrat Asavapisit, director-general of the Intellectual Property Department, said the government is expecting Thailand to be upgraded to the "Watch List" because of its successes in suppressing intellectual property abuses over the past year.

"I'm disappointed that IIPA has recommended that Thailand be left on the PWL. The department will write a letter to clarify Thailand's progress on intellectual property rights protection and try to convince the USTR to upgrade Thailand's trade status," she said.

A Commerce Ministry source said Thailand still has a chance to be upgraded as the US is waiting for the Thai government's policy on compulsory licensing, which weighs heavily in the USTR's decision.

Although the USTR said CL is not a key factor for its consideration, it was one of the major issues for downgrading Thailand's trade status last year, as the pharmaceutical industry has a major influence in the American economy.

Pornsilp Patcharintanakul, secretary-general of the Board of Trade, called on the government to seek other measures to help poor people gain access to low-cost drugs rather than CL, which has created problems for the Kingdom.

The government should set aside a budget from its populist policy to help open up opportunities for the poor to get hold of low priced drugs.

"Thailand may face more trouble if the government announces additional compulsory licensing approvals. Now, businesses are really worried about the issue as we must lose more than we have gained from compulsory licensing," Pornsilp said.

Petchanet Pratruangkrai,

Pongphon Sarnsamak

The Nation