South African pharma firms accused of arranging to delay patents law reform

Patents on new medicines may possibly be bypassed in South Africa if adjustments to intellectual home law go ahead. Photograph: Krista Kennell/ZUMA/Corbis

Drug firms in South Africa have been accused of preparing a covert, properly-funded campaign to delay the introduction of laws that threaten their earnings. Leaked paperwork demonstrate that pharmaceutical firms planned a $ 450,000 campaign, involving a high-profile consultancy primarily based in Washington, DC, against modifications to intellectual house laws that would allow their patents on new medicines to be bypassed in the interests of public health. This would permit the manufacture of less costly copies of their medicines.

Campaigners accused the global drug giants of trying to derail existence-saving legislation. The trade entire body IPASA (Modern Pharmaceutical Industry Association South Africa), which was coordinating the campaign, explained on Thursday the programs have been no longer going ahead – though it was legitimate for drug organizations to advertise their views in this way.

One particular of the leaked paperwork is an e-mail dated 10 January from a member of IPASA’s executive to representatives of most of the large-name drug businesses operating in South Africa. As agreed in December, it says, “we have moved ahead in identifying a large-calibre consultancy group to work with us”, naming Washington-based mostly Public Affairs Engagement (PAE).

The second document is the proposed PAE approach, involving the creation of an alliance of businesspeople and academics, the placement of prominent editorials in newspapers, and a bid to “distract” access to medicine campaigners “from their personal aggressive campaign”.

The document later names Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) and the Therapy Action Campaign (TAC), calling them a “coalition that was formed to pressure the government into making [the draft IP policy] in the initial location”.

The stakes are high, says the document. “South Africa is now ground zero for the debate on the value of robust IP protection. If the battle is misplaced right here, the results will resonate. Clearly MSF and related NGOs understand that … With no a vigorous campaign, opponents of strong IP will prevail – not just in South Africa but eventually in much of the rest of the developing world.”

Campaigners mentioned they had been shocked. “What is surprising to us is that it is done so subversively,” stated Julia Hill of MSF. “We have really made an effort to be really transparent. It is disappointing that this is currently being carried out in secret and that this kind of an extraordinary volume of funds is getting spent to interfere with the democratic method.”

Lotti Rutter, a senior researcher at TAC, stated: “We have received substantial concerns in excess of what seems to be fairly a covert and well-funded atempt from foreign sector to delay an essential law reform method happening here in South Africa.”

Val Beaumont of IPASA said the discussions had taken spot but the PAE proposal had not been accepted. “It is a really, quite essential situation to us and it will be to any of the knowledge-primarily based organisations,” she stated. “There was a large concern that it would be rushed.” It was Ok for an organisation to have a PR company to support place across its views, she said.

South African pharma firms accused of arranging to delay patents law reform