PHA-Exchange> Roche Will Not Enforce Patents... (2)

[Claudio]

From: "Wouter Arrazola de Onate" <Wouter at health.uem.mz>

> Dear all, dear 'Roche',
> 
> I am running an STI programme in Mozambique, which is on the
> list of least developed countries.
> 
> If Roche is truly concerned about the epidemic, they also should
> lower their prices for tests for STI, like PCR for Chlamydia and
> Gonorrhea etc... Everybody knows that STI are fuelling the
> spread of HIV, So lowering the prices for STI-testing should be
> on the agenda as well.
> 
> Especially in Sub-Saharan Africa:
> 
> Roche South Africa gave me a quotation with ridiculously high
> prices for their PCR kits. Prices were 4 TIMES HIGHER then
> prices in Europe!!! Can anybody understand this international
> policy? I do not see the "socially and environmentally sustain-
> able" way of operating here, I'm sorry. ASKING HIGHER PRICES IN
> AFRICA THAN IN EUROPE????
> 
> So I felt obliged to buy in Europe and import with cooled trans-
> port to Mozambique. Even with transport costs, prices per test
> were much, much lower. I asked several times for an explanation
> but until now I didn't get a response from Roche. I will try it
> this way.
> 
> Kind regards,
> 
> Dr. Wouter Arrazola de Onate, MD
> International Centre for Reproductive Health
> Field Coordinator Mozambique
> Universidade Eduardo Mondlane - Universidade da Ghent
> Faculdade de Medicina
> Av. Salvador Allende
> Maputo, Mozambique
> mailto:wouter at health.uem.mz