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Published on March 4, 2008

"The use of compulsory licensing must be continued alongside the negotiations with pharmaceutical companies to reduce the price of drug products," he said.

The ministry had to retain compulsory licensing as it was an important tool to give patients access to life-saving drugs. But the compulsory licensing, approved by his predecessor, Dr Mongkol na Songkla, had not been approved by the previous cabinet, he said.

Moreover, the Commerce Ministry had informed him that the compulsory licensing of cancer drugs would affect Thailand's international trade, particularly with the United States, which may designate the country as a "Priority Foreign Country" if it has an adverse impact on relevant US products.

This was the reason why the Health Ministry earlier announced a revision of the compulsory licensing enforcement for cancer drugs.

The drugs for which compulsory licensing was imposed on January 4 are docetaxel, sold as Taxotere by Sanofi Aventis; erlotinib, sold as Tarceva by Roche; and letrozole, sold as Femara by Novartis.

"Some information, and the process of imposing compulsory licensing for the cancer drugs, are not legal because it was not imposed by cabinet resolution," he said.

To implement compulsory licensing and not affect international trade, Chaiya had assigned the National Health Security Office, the National Cancer Institute and health experts to calculate the total number of patients

suffering from leukaemia and breast, lung and gastric cancer, which would help the ministry estimate the budget for imported drugs.

The result is expected in the next two weeks. It will then be submitted to the Cabinet.

However, Chaiya said it was the duty of the Commerce minister to make the decision to revoke or retain compulsory licensing.

However, Chaiya promised to step down if any cancer patient succumbed to their illnesses as a result of the government's decision to remove compulsory licensing.

Government Pharmaceu-tical Organisation chairman Vichai Chokewiwat said the decision could not be revoked by the Commerce Ministry because Article 51 of the 1992 Patent Law allowed any ministry to announce compulsory licensing for non-commercial uses without the ministry's approval.

He said if the government cancels the licensing it would violate the constitution and the National Health Security Office Act, which requires the government to provide cheap drugs and effective treatment for those who are ill.

Pongphon Sarnsamak

The Nation