Date: Sun, 21 Oct 2001 12:08:37 -0400
To: Matthew Gaylor <freematt@coil.com>
From: Matthew Gaylor <freematt@coil.com>
Subject: [Cipro] Drug patent - *triple* standards?
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" ; format="flowed"

Date: Sun, 21 Oct 2001 06:31:22 +0300
From: Mikhail Ramendik <mikhram@dataforce.net>
Reply-To: Mikhail Ramendik <mikhram@dataforce.net>
To: freematt@coil.com
Subject: Drug patent - *triple* standards?

Hello Matt,

This message is intended for the List. Hello to all readers; I am
writing from Moscow, Russia.

I read in the news that the U.S. wants to relax patent law to allow
import of the medicine Ciprofloxacin, patented by Bayer, from sources
which do not have a license from Bayer.

The BBC report is at:

<http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/world/americas/newsid_1606000/1606792.stm>

It says that "Allowing drug patents to be relaxed or ignored in other
countries is something that the US has been fiercely opposed to. Many
developing countries, which want to obtain cheaper generic drugs for
the treatment of killer diseases such as Aids, have faced the threat
of trade sanctions and US-backed litigation."

This, in itself, would constitute a double standard. But there's more
to the story!

It turns out that I am right now taking this same medicine,
Ciprofloxacin, made in India under the trade name Cifran. Thank God,
no anthrax in this case, just a respiratory infection. The medicine is
available in many pharmacies in Moscow.

So, Russia did obtain this 'cheaper generic drug' from India. And the
US is, and was, silent. No problems! So, the US can do what some
countries can't but some others, which the US does not want to
pressure, again can...

Triple standard anybody?

-- 
Best regards,
  Mikhail     mailto:mikhram@dataforce.net


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