PHM-Exch> Big Pharma

[Claudio Schuftan]

From: shila kaur <kaur_shila at yahoo.com>



The pharma industry is so successful because apart from the rich
intellectual resources it employs to carry out its research and
development, it also invests a lot in romancing (wining and dining ) the
media so that the politically correct spin is made to portray its
altruistic face.
 ****
They downplay the role of activism by playing up the role of the generics
industry - the generics industry emerged as a strong contender for the
share of big pharma profits following great and sustained efforts from
patients who were afflicted with serious life-threatening diseases but had
no cheaper alternatives.  This was the case particularly with HIV/AIDS when
it first surfaced and medicines were out of the reach of patients as a
result of exorbitant prices.  People have become activists as a result of
being infected with the HIV virus;  this is the kind of motivation that
drives ordinary people to become heroes.  The mobilization that has
followed and the concomitant surge of activism in, for example, India
around the HIV/AIDS  problem, gave the added push for the generics AZT
manufacturer in India to offer this at a fraction of the cost of the
branded medicine by big pharma.  Big pharma will always discount the role
of activists and try to discredit them but if it were not for activists the
generics industry would not even have become an alternative!  They have the
spin doctors in their pockets.
 ****
Countries, particularly in Asia and the Pacific and Latin America are being
coerced to sign trade-related agreements which essentially will have impact
on various sectors including food and access to generic medicines.  If big
pharma was so altruistic, why the push to keep medicines patents intact (by
merely changing chemical structures of its medicines slightly so that it
becomes a 'new' medicine without altering its intended action). What is
this if not a profits motivation?!  This is the counter argument for the
Medicines Pool which  is a recent initiative, and came about through dogged
action by many civil society groups who were  concerned that the
pharma industry had chosen to forget various diseases as they did not see
profit in these areas - hence the category 'neglected diseases'!
 ****
  Feel free to get in touch with me as and when the need arises.  I think
the IPHU and PHA has been a good learning.
 ****

Shila Kaur
Coordinator
Health Action International Asia Pacific (HAIAP)
Penang, Malaysia
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