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See also other materials on "Access to life-saving medicines"

1 Nov. 2001 to present:

2003:

Drug firms accused of forgetting the poor - Health professionals meeting in Kenya yesterday accused large drug companies of abandoning research into "forgotten" diseases, which threaten tens of millions of the world's poor, because they were unprofitable. (AFP, 9 May 2003)

Price of Aids drugs cut by half - GlaxoSmithKline, the biggest manufacturer of Aids drugs in the world, has halved the price of its leading Aids drug in poor countries. The move comes after intense pressure on the pharmaceutical industry from health activists, investors and charities around the world. (BBC News, 28 Apr. 2003)

• Glaxo Will Further Cut Prices of AIDS Drugs to Poor Nations (Reed Abelson, New York Times, 28 Apr. 2003)

Dying for drugs - A hard-hitting investigation into the global power of the world's most profitable business - the pharmaceutical industry...In Africa the team sees how one of the world's biggest drug companies [Pfizer] experimented on children without their parents' knowledge or consent. In Canada they reveal how a drug company [Apotex] attempted to silence a leading academic who had doubts about their drug. In South Korea cameras follow the attempts of desperately ill patients to make a leading drug company [Novartis] sell them the drugs they need to save their lives at an affordable price. And in Honduras the team uncovers the brutal consequences of drug companies' pricing policies. (Channel 4 television [UK], 27 Apr. 2003)

• Nigerians sue Pfizer over test deaths - A group of Nigerian families has sued the drugs giant Pfizer following the deaths of 11 children and injury to others who are said to have taken part in tests of a drug to treat meningitis...The suit alleges that the drug company did not obtain consent and did not explain that the proposed treatment was experimental. (BBC News, 30 Aug. 2001)

• Tussle Over Generic AIDS Drugs - The World Health Organization has produced a list of companies making safe AIDS drugs, a move that could bring down the price of treatment in poor countries. (AP, 21 Mar. 2002)

• Ailing ethics - A clinical trial [by Pfizer in Nigeria] raises disturbing questions about drug companies' activities in Africa (Sarah Boseley, Guardian [UK], 20 Jan. 2001)

• The rich world's patents abandon the poor to die - Non-branded Aids drugs would save a generation in developing countries -...The US, influenced by the pharmaceutical lobby, blocked an agreement at the WTO to lift restrictions on exports of cheap generics to countries that cannot produce affordable versions themselves. What is going wrong? What are we and our companies afraid of? (John Sulston, founding director of the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute who shared the Nobel Prize for medicine in 2002, in Guardian [UK], 18 Feb. 2003)

• US wrecks cheap drugs deal - Cheney's intervention blocks pact to help poor countries after pharmaceutical firms lobby White House -...Talks at the WTO's Geneva headquarters collapsed last night after the White House ruled out a deal which would have permitted a full range of life-saving drugs to be imported into Africa, Asia and Latin America at cut-price costs. (Larry Elliott and Charlotte Denny, Guardian [UK], 21 Dec. 2002) 

GlaxoSmithKline, seeking a cure for public mistrust - Mallen Baker assesses GSK's most recent social and environmental report. (Mallen Baker, in Ethical Corporation Magazine, 23 Apr. 2003)

Drug industry debates duty to society -...To what extent should pharmaceutical companies be accountable for including minorities in their studies of new medicines? What issues should be considered in balancing the enforcement of patents and the availability of life-saving drugs? These questions and more arose at the opening day of a conference examining the "Grand Bargain" between society and the drug industry (Lewis Krauskopf, NorthJersey.com, 22 Apr. 2003)

Merck board approves spinoff of Medco business -...shareholders [at Merck's annual meeting] rejected two proposals that raised moral issues: A Wisconsin-based religious group...said the board should develop "ethical criteria" on extending patents for prescription drugs. The group argued that generic drugs "expand access to needed treatments," and that making small changes to keep a patented drug under protection brings higher costs to consumers and discourages innovation. The board said the company will defend its patents but "will not pursue baseless legal or other remedies designed merely to delay the entry of generic medicines." (Jeffrey Gold, Associated Press, 22 Apr. 2003)

Investing with an agenda - Calpers' social, corporate activism drawing attention in bear market as some fear its aggressive tactics may cost governments, firms money -...When the AIDS Healthcare Foundation wanted drug maker GlaxoSmithKline PLC to lower the $438 a person it charges in developing countries for a year's worth of AZT, it turned to an unlikely ally: America's largest pension fund...In its letter to Glaxo...Calpers praised the drug maker for ''established and effective humanitarian programs.'' But Calpers pressed Glaxo to ''immediately and continually evaluate the company's humanitarian efforts in light of a changing environment, including its response to the AIDS epidemic.'' Calpers wants Glaxo's findings to be scrutinized by an independent body like Doctors Without Borders. (Chris Gaither, Boston Globe, 20 Apr. 2003)

New call for cheap Aids drugs - The largest pension fund in the US has called on British drug giant GSK to make access to Aids drugs easier by cutting prices and easing patent controls. (BBC News, 15 Apr. 2003)

• CalPERS asks Glaxo to lower AIDS drug prices (Sacramento Business Journal, 14 Apr. 2003)

• GSK Commends CalPERS for Its Support of the Company's Continuing HIV/AIDS Efforts - The following is a statement from GlaxoSmithKline commending the California Public Employees Retirement System (CalPERS) for their interest in and support of the company's efforts to combat HIV/AIDS in developing countries. The statement comes in response to a press release issued by The AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF). In that press release, AHF describes a letter written by CalPERS to GSK ending months of pressure by AHF to try and force CalPERS to sell its GSK shareholdings. In a unanimous vote, the CalPERS Board rejected AHF's attempts to force a sale of GSK stock, and instead agreed to write a letter expressing its concerns that the company continue and expand its efforts to fight the HIV/AIDS epidemic. (GlaxoSmithKline, 15 Apr. 2003)

• CalPERS to Glaxo: Lower AIDS Drug Prices, Increase Humanitarian Efforts - Nation's Largest Pension System Warns British Drug Giant of Damage to Reputation, Encourages GSK to Study Voluntary Licensing of Generic Life-Saving AIDS Drugs - Mammoth Pension Fund Holds Nearly USD$760 Million in GSK Stock (AIDS Healthcare Foundation, 15 Apr. 2003)

Gold Fields to extend anti-retroviral programme [South Africa] - Gold mining group Gold Fields Limited (GFI) intends extending its existing Wellness Management Programme to include Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy (HAART) as a treatment option for all employees living with Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS). Gold Fields previously provided Antiretroviral Therapy on a limited basis to prevent mother to child transmission (MTCT), and as post exposure prophylaxis to rape victims and employees with occupational exposure to HIV. (Business Day [South Africa], 1 Apr. 2003)

{···français} Accès aux médicaments du Sida: le docteur Gunther chez Mme Adjobi [Côte d'Ivoire] - Le docteur Gunther Faber, vice-président pour l'Afrique subsaharienne et l'Afrique du Sud des laboratoires Glaxosmithkline, principal fournisseur mondial des antirétroviraux (ARV), arrive à Abidjan aujourd'hui pour un séjour de trois jours...cette visite est porteuse d'espoir pour les malades du sida quant à l'accessibilité aux antirétroviraux. Ces produits restent toujours relativement chers pour les pays africains, malgré l'initiative d'accès aux ARV entamée l'année dernière par les principaux laboratoires exerçant dans ce domaine en direction des pays africains. (Elvis Kodjo, Fraternité Matin [Côte d'Ivoire], 31 mars 2003)

State AIDS Drug Assistance Programs [ADAPs], NASTAD Negotiate Lower Price for Fuzeon With Roche [USA] -...The meetings...brought together ADAP representatives from California, Florida, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina and Texas...with representatives from Roche, GlaxoSmithKline, Merck, Pfizer, Abbott Laboratories, Boehringer-Ingelheim, Gilead Sciences and Bristol-Myers Squibb...Roche was the only company to come to a "satisfactory agreement" with the ADAPs...Five other drug companies have decided to continue negotiations, which are expected to conclude by late next month. (Kaiser Daily HIV/AIDS Report, 31 Mar. 2003)

Pharmaceuticals held to ransom? - Twelve of Europe's biggest investors have united in an attempt to challenge multinational drugs firms to improve access to medicines in poor countries, but, asks Jim Gough, will it change anything? -...According to Olivia Lankester, a senior analyst at Isis, eight leading pharmaceutical companies were alerted before the release of the investors' statement of good practice, and 'many of them' said they would welcome the initiative...GSK [GlaxoSmithKline] chief executive Jean-Pierre Garnier insists the company's policies, initiatives and commitments are already consistent with the investors' proposed framework. He believes GSK is the only company undertaking research and development into the prevention and treatment of the World Health Organisation's top priority diseases in the developing world, HIV/Aids, tuberculosis and malaria...Nathan Ford, MSF's [Médecins Sans Frontières'] access to medicines adviser, says: 'I'm completely unconvinced that the industry is responding anything like adequately enough"...The Scottish arm of the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry...said access to drugs can be limited by weaknesses among the governments of poor nations.  A spokeswoman said: 'Everybody concentrates on the patents -- but that is not the major issue. (Sunday Herald [Scotland], 30 Mar. 2003)

GSK confirms global commitment to Corporate and Social Responsibility - GlaxoSmithKline today reinforced its commitment to connecting GSK business decisions to ethical, social and environmental concerns...GSK believes that it has a responsibility to make its products as affordable as possible in the poorest countries. (GlaxoSmithKline, 28 Mar. 2003)

The Dangers to Doha: The Risks of Failure in the Trade Round - The following is an address by Clare Short, MP, Britain's Secretary of State for International Development, to the Royal Institute of International Affairs...Today I want to talk to you about an urgent issue: the dangers to the Doha Trade Round and the imperative of acting now to secure a successful outcome of the Round. I want to spell out why this matters so much to developing countries. (Clare Short, UK Secretary of State for International Development, 25 Mar. 2003)

Investors pressure drug firms on pricing - Multinationals urged to allow developing countries to sidestep patents on life-saving treatments - Drug companies were given a stark warning yesterday that blocking access to life-saving drugs at affordable prices by poor countries could undermine public confidence in them and damage the value of their shares in the long term. The unprecedented pressure on the multinationals comes from major City institutions with investments of more than £600bn and backed by well-known names such as Jupiter, Schroders and Legal and General Investment Management. (Sarah Boseley, Guardian [UK], 25 Mar. 2003)

• Financial institutions launch statement on pharmaceuticals and the health crisis in emerging markets (ISIS Asset Management, 24 Mar. 2003)

• full statement: "Investor Statement on pharmaceutical companies and the public health crisis in emerging markets" (ISIS Asset Mgt., Universities Superannuation Scheme, Insight Investment, Henderson Global Investors, Schroders, Legal & General Investment Mgt., Morley Fund Mgt., Co-operative Insurance, Jupiter, Ethos, PGGM, Central Finance Board of the Methodist Church, 24 Mar. 2003)

• Drugs industry told to do more for poor - The pharmaceuticals industry risks damaging its reputation and future profits if it does not do more to respond to health crises in poor countries, a group of European institutional investors said on Monday. (Reuters, 24 Mar. 2003) 

• Investors issue a wake-up call to the global pharmaceutical industry (Tobias Webb, Ethical Corporation Magazine, 26 Mar. 2003)

Drug giants 'next tobacco' warning - The pharmaceutical industry risks becoming the "new tobacco" unless it cleans up its act in developing countries, an influential group of investors has warned. The global drugs industry must do more to help poor countries facing health crises, according to investors from the US and continental Europe. (BBC News, 24 Mar. 2003)

United by Free Trade -...Meanwhile, the U.S. position on loosening patent rules on drugs for very poor developing countries is also in need of reexamination. It is unacceptable that millions of victims of AIDS, tuberculosis and other epidemics cannot afford the drugs that could cure them because the American drug industry keeps the prices too high. Talks on this issue collapsed last December, and although U.S. negotiators have agreed not to pursue poor countries that manufacture generic versions of critical drugs, the onus is still on the United States to make sure the drugs are genuinely and easily available where they need to be. (editorial, Washington Post, 24 Mar. 2003)

Indian Company in Partnership to Produce Cheap Meningitis Vaccine for Developing World - Serum Institute of India Ltd. has agreed to be the first to produce a vaccine for a strain of meningitis that is epidemic in Africa and will do so for approximately $.40 per dose. According to The Wall Street Journal, the project will be funded by the Meningitis Vaccine Project (MVP) a program established in 2001 with a $70 million donation from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to correct what supporters call a “market failure” in vaccines for the developing world. The vaccine for meningitis A was developed but never commercially produced by two major firms (Business for Social Responsibility summary of article in Wall Street Journal, 17 Mar. 2003)

HIV/AIDS Reporting Framework Released - Key performance indicators for HIV/AIDS management were set out for public feedback today...The resulting draft document, “Reporting Guidance on HIV/AIDS: A GRI Resource Document”, was released today in an effort to elicit extensive global feedback that will shape the final report. In parallel, a broad range of South African manufacturing, mining, banking, and government organisations have agreed to evaluate the HIV resource document. All public feedback should be submitted by 21 April 2003 to the South African contacts listed below. (Global Reporting Initiative, 4 Mar. 2003)

HIV/AIDS II: WHO, UNICEF Praise Drug Makers' Cooperation Pledge - The World Health Organization and UNICEF yesterday welcomed a pledge by the International Generic Pharmaceutical Alliance and makers of anti-retroviral HIV/AIDS drugs to collaborate with the United Nations on increasing low-cost access to such drugs in poor countries. (UN Wire, 27 Feb. 2003)

Patent relaxation threatens Aids drugs -...The US develops 70 per cent of all new drugs and most Aids drugs. Yet 25 per cent fewer drug companies are working on Aids drugs than a few years ago, partly because their previous discoveries are being ripped off. The US trade representative should continue to stand up for patents against the rest of the world, allowing only the poorest 60 or so countries to copy patented drugs. (Roger Bate, Africa Fighting Malaria, letter to Financial Times, 18 Feb. 2003)

"Human Rights and Ethical Globalization" -...On this occasion my intention is to consider how, by using the language and tools of international human rights, we can shape a more ethical globalization...there is increasing recognition that if fundamental rights are to be implemented it is essential to ensure that obligations fall where power is exercised, whether it is in the local village, the corporate board room or in the international meeting rooms of the WTO, the World Bank or the IMF...discussion is only now beginning on the fundamental question of how to ensure equitable access to life saving drugs...I hope, through my new work, to engage the major pharmaceutical companies in addressing these issues from a human rights perspective. (lecture by Mary Robinson, Director of the Ethical Globalization Initiative, former U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, at Stanford University, 12 Feb. 2003)

DRUGS: WTO Members Allow One Week To Reach Deal For Poor Countries - World Trade Organization member countries yesterday in Geneva gave negotiators one more week to reach a deal on providing inexpensive drugs to poor countries after the United States said it needed more time to consider new proposals (UN Wire, 11 Feb. 2002)

• US pressed to allow cheap drugs for poor countries (Larry Elliott, Guardian [UK], 11 Feb. 2003)

DRUGS: WHO To Push WTO On Patents -...According to Brazilian Health Minister Humberto Costa, the WHO is planning to send a letter to the WTO calling for public health interests to be given priority over the interests of the pharmaceutical industry (UN Wire, 28 Jan. 2003)

• {···português} OMS vai priorizar quebra de patentes (Jornal do Brasil, 28 janeiro 2003)

Harmony to offer HIV/AIDS drugs [South Africa] - Harmony Gold Mining would offer its HIV-positive employees antiretroviral drugs and was looking at rolling out a "workable and sustainable" antiretroviral programme, it said yesterday. (Sherilee Bridge, Business Report [South Africa], 28 Jan. 2003)

HIV/AIDS: WHO Welcomes Drug Makers' Patent Moves - The World Health Organization Friday welcomed new initiatives by several drug companies to license their patents to generic manufacturers for production of certain HIV/AIDS drugs. (UN Wire, 27 Jan. 2003)

• UN health agency welcomes move by companies to licence some HIV/AIDS drugs (UN News Centre, 24 Jan. 2003)

Patents are not the problem with drugs access -...In reality, 99 per cent of the World Health Organisation's list of essential drugs are not patented - yet access to these medicines is abysmally low. The reason is the grinding poverty in poor countries and a lack of health infrastructure. If rich countries wanted to show that they took poor country concerns seriously, they should start reducing agricultural subsidies. (Richard Tren, Africa Fighting Malaria, letter to Financial Times, 2 Jan. 2003)

2002:

HIV/AIDS: Challenges to trade unions [Nigeria] -...the General Secretary of the NLC [Nigeria Labour Congress], Comrade John Odah, in his paper titled, "A module on AIDS and the Workplace," on how unionists should tackle the issue of HIV/AIDS, regretted that Trade Unions in Nigeria have done little or nothing to assist in the campaign against HIV/AIDS. (Chioma Obinna, Vanguard [Nigeria], 17 Dec. 2002)

Strict International Patent Laws Hurt Developing Countries - What was the South African lawsuit about, and what does it tell us about globalization? [regarding lawsuit filed in 1998 by 39 pharmaceutical companies against South Africa, seeking to stop the government from producing generic drugs to make treatment affordable for the country's AIDS victims; after an international public outcry the companies dropped the lawsuit] (Amy Kapczynski, YaleGlobal, 16 Dec. 2002)

DRUGS: Access Must Not Harm World Trade, WTO Head Says - "...if we fail to protect the patents of entrepreneurs who channel billions of dollars into developing new drugs, our hopes of finding lifesaving medication for currently untreatable ailments will be dashed," he [WTO Director General Supachai Panitchpakdi] said (UN Wire, 16 Dec. 2002)

HIV/AIDS: International Coalition On Anti-Retrovirals Launched - The World Health Organization, the Joint U.N. Program on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) and dozens of other institutions today launched the International HIV Treatment Access Coalition to expand access to anti-retroviral drugs in poor and middle-income countries. (UN Wire, 12 Dec. 2002)

Boycott Coke to press for action on HIV - CUPE is joining an international coalition of activists in a boycott of all Coca-Cola products. The action is aimed at getting the company to pay for HIV drugs and treatment for workers in Africa living with HIV among the 100,000 people who bottle and distribute Coke – not just the company’s so-called ’direct workforce’ of 1500 people. (CUPE - Canadian Union of Public Employees, 10 Dec. 2002)

Mandela launches new South African AIDS drug campaign -...The programme will seek to negotiate cheaper drug prices from big pharmaceutical firms. (Andrew Quinn, Reuters, 6 Dec. 2002)

Declaration by unions challenges state, business [South Africa] - Three of South Africa’s largest union federations have drafted a declaration to challenge government and private employers to do more to fight HIV/Aids, and to refrain from discriminating against HIV-positive employees. (Herald [South Africa], 2 Dec. 2002)

• Labour unions demand access to HIV/AIDS treatment [South Africa] (SAPA, 1 Dec. 2002)

press release: Access to essential drugs may be undermined by global patent agreement -...The Panos Report, Patents, Pills and Public Health: can TRIPS deliver? warns that patent legislation is not being debated widely enough in most developing countries, and the process of introducing it needs to be more consultative and transparent. (Panos Institute, 1 Dec. 2002)

• full report: Patents, Pills and Public Health - Can TRIPS Deliver? (Panos Institute, Dec. 2002)

Medicine Access in Dispute - With the rich countries eager to renege on promises made at the November 2001 World Trade Organization (WTO) ministerial meeting in Doha, Qatar, developing countries in November rejected rich country proposals that public health advocates said would significantly limit poor countries' access to essential medicines. (Multinational Monitor, Dec. 2002)

Industrialised North Puts Brakes on WTO Medicine Accord - Negotiators at the World Trade Organisation (WTO) failed Friday to reach an agreement to ensure poor countries access to essential medicines. Health activists blame the fiasco on opposition from the United States and a handful of other industrialised countries. (Gustavo Capdevila, Inter Press Service, 29 Nov. 2002)

HEPATITIS: U.N.-Backed Vaccine Initiative Reaches 10.5 Million Children -...There is clear evidence, the report said, that a public-private alliance along with significant backing from GAVI's financing branch, the Vaccine Fund, could create new interest in vaccines for the poorest countries. (UN Wire, 21 Nov. 2002)

VACCINES: U.N. Calls For More Investment, Cheaper Products - Immunizations are saving 3 million lives a year but could save 3 million more with more investment and less expensive vaccines, UNICEF, the World Health Organization and the World Bank said today in a report (UN Wire, 20 Nov. 2002)

New Findings In Malaria Vaccine Development Announced At International Malaria Conference (Malaria Vaccine Initiative, 19 Nov. 2002)

• MALARIA: International Conference Focuses On Vaccine Progress -...Conference attendees heard about the progress of various vaccine trials, including the first pediatric clinical trials in Africa of a vaccine developed by GlaxoSmithKline..."The crucial difference between the situation today and several years ago is the increase in the number of malaria vaccine clinical trials in Africa with industry sponsorship," said W. Ripley Ballou of MedImmune (UN Wire, 18 Nov. 2002)

DRUGS: Ministers At WTO Meeting Report Progress On Generics - Several of the 25 ministers attending a World Trade Organization meeting in Sydney today reported progress on permitting poor nations to import inexpensive generic medicines. (UN Wire, 15 Nov. 2002)

US drug makers accused of bullying - The US government and the giant pharmaceutical companies are continuing to bully poor countries to tighten up their patent rules, hampering efforts to obtain cheap medicines for people with diseases such as HIV/Aids, according to a new report [by Oxfam] (Sarah Boseley, Guardian [UK], 14 Nov. 2002)

DRUGS: WTO Ministers Meet To Tackle Generics - A two-day World Trade Organization ministerial meeting was slated to open today in Sydney, with much discussion expected to focus on amending international patent rules to provide poor countries with access to cheap generic medicines. (UN Wire, 14 Nov. 2002)

Investing in Africa, challenges and initiatives - Alex Blyth looks at the principal issues around western business investment in Africa and some of the companies that are attempting to improve their impact on the landscape and people of the continent [refers to Environment: TotalFinaElf in Nigeria; Palabora Mining Company (49% owned by Rio Tinto) in South Africa; Anglo American; DeBeers; Water & sanitation: Suez in Morocco & South Africa; Thames Water in Tanzania & South Africa; Education: ChevronTexaco in Nigeria; Old Mutual in South Africa; Barclays Africa; Economic development: Richards Bay Minerals (50% owned by Rio Tinto) in South Africa; HIV/AIDS:  Bristol-Myers Squibb Company in South Africa, Botswana, Namibia, Lesotho and Swaziland; DaimlerChrysler in South Africa; Coca-Cola]  (Alex Blyth, in Ethical Corporation Magazine, 11 Nov. 2002)

POLIO: Aventis Pasteur Gives U.N. 30 Million Vaccine Doses - Aventis Pasteur Friday donated 30 million doses of polio vaccine to help the World Health Organization and UNICEF immunize 60 million children against polio in 16 West African countries. (UN Wire, 11 Nov. 2002)

Anglo American to foot bulk of mining Aids bill [South Africa] - Anglo American...had effectively agreed to foot the lion's share of the local industry's bill to investigate the efficacy of antiretroviral drugs given to miners with HIV/Aids, it emerged yesterday. (Sherilee Bridge, Business Report, 6 Nov. 2002)

Rand Water pours R20m into Aids fight [South Africa] - Rand Water, the country's largest water utility, is spending about R20 million this year to fight the HIV/Aids epidemic among its workforce. (Khulu Phasiwe, Business Report [South Africa], 5 Nov. 2002)

Tiered pricing alone is not enough - Oxfam welcomes the [European] Commission’s initiative to help reduce the price of essential medicines for developing countries. This must now be coupled with fundamental reform of global patent rules which are preventing poor people getting access to the cheapest possible medicines...Oxfam believe that the Commission’s decision to limit the scope to just HIV, TB and Malaria and to the very poorest countries in the world could result in terrible development outcomes. (Oxfam, 4 Nov. 2002)

Government and business join in tackling poverty in South Africa -...The summit marked the first time the private sector has become a partner in dealing with poverty. Business has previously participated in social responsibility projects, but with this initiative it is working with government on designing a strategy that aims to quicken poverty reduction and action against HIV/AIDS. (U.N. Development Programme, 30 Oct. 2002)

HIV/AIDS: Merck Announces Drug Price Cuts In Poor Countries - Pharmaceutical company Merck today announced a 30 percent price cut for a new tablet form of one of its main HIV/AIDS drugs, Stocrin, in "the least developed countries of the world and those hardest hit by the HIV/AIDS epidemic" (UN Wire, 23 Oct. 2002)

MEDICINES: 2 Billion People Lack Access To Essential Drugs, WHO Says -...Medecins Sans Frontieres' Bernard Pecoul said patents, particularly on AIDS drugs, lead to higher prices, "with the direct result that people in developing countries cannot afford to save their own lives" (UN Wire, 22 Oct. 2002)

AIDS Activists Mobilize against Coca-Cola - AIDS activists are preparing rallies and demonstrations Thursday in several cities around the world to protest against global soft-drink giant Coca-Cola, which they charge must do more to help and treat its HIV-infected workers and their families in sub-Saharan Africa. (Jim Lobe, OneWorld US, 17 Oct. 2002) 

GLOBAL FUND: UNAIDS, WHO Revise Figures, Say AIDS Fight Underfunded -...UNAIDS and WHO said substantial boosts in expenditures from all quarters -- governments, bilateral and multilateral agencies, nongovernmental organizations and the private sector -- are urgently needed to keep pace with the epidemic's rapid expansion (UN Wire, 11 Oct. 2002)

• New figures show AIDS fight under-resourced: Existing funds insufficient to keep pace (UNAIDS and World Health Organization, 10 Oct. 2002)

• {···español} Nuevos datos indican que la lucha contra el SIDA recibe insuficientes recursos: Los fondos disponibles no son suficientes para mantener el ritmo (ONUSIDA y la Organización Mundial de la Salud, 10 octubre 2002)

• {···français} De nouveaux chiffres révèlent l'insuffisance des ressources disponsibles pour la lutte contre le SIDA: Les fonds existants ne suffiront pas à maintenir le rythme (ONUSIDA et l'Organisation mondiale de la Santé, 10 octobre 2002)

MENINGITIS: African Outbreak Prompts Calls For Lower-Priced Vaccine (UN Wire, 30 Sep. 2002)

• An Epidemic of Wilful Neglect: International health community 'ill-prepared' for next African meningitis epidemic - Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) warns that thousands may die of wilful neglect unless a vaccine is made available at an affordable price to the African countries most affected by meningitis...The best offer so far, by GSK, has been US$3.5 (Médecins Sans Frontières, 19 Sep. 2002)

• Urgent call for action on meningitis in Africa: Vaccine price and shortage the major obstacles (World Health Organization, 27 Sep. 2002)

• {···español} Llamamiento urgente a la acción contra la meningitis en Africa: Los precios y la escasez de las vacunas son los obstáculos principales (Organización Mundial de la Salud, 27 septiembre 2002)

• {···français} Appel en faveur de mesures d’urgence contre la méningite en Afrique: Les prix trop élevés et la pénurie de vaccins sont les principaux obstacles (Organisation mondiale de la Santé, 27 septembre 2002)

• Aid groups: New meningitis strain threatens Africans -...The aid agency Medicins Sans Frontieres claimed the problem stemmed from lack of government and international pressure on drug companies. (AP, 19 Sep. 2002) 

U.S. and W.T.O. Negotiate Drug Access - The United States and the World Trade Organization will try to come up with an agreement by year-end on how to give poor countries greater access to drugs to fight AIDS and other diseases, trade officials said today. (Bloomberg News, 27 Sep. 2002)

Oxfam response to EC working document on Tiered Pricing -...Tiered Pricing is not enough [regarding access to medicines] (Oxfam, 26 Sep. 2002)

Coca-Cola extends AIDS coverage in Africa - Under fire from activists, The Coca-Cola Co. announced Thursday it was joining with its bottlers in Africa to extend AIDS health care coverage, including access to expensive drugs, to tens of thousands of workers. (Paul Geitner, AP, 26 Sep. 2002)

• Coca-Cola bottlers to add AIDS benefits in Africa - Soft drink giant Coca-Cola Co., which has been criticized for not doing enough to fight the AIDS epidemic in Africa, announced on Thursday that 40 of its bottlers there were expanding HIV/AIDS benefits for workers on the continent. (Paul Simao, Reuters, 26 Sep. 2002)

• PharmAccess International organizes a HIV/AIDS Treatment Program in Collaboration With the Coca-Cola Africa Foundation and Coca-Cola Bottlers in 56 Countries in Africa: Program designed to Expand Employee Healthcare Include Prevention, AIDS Testing and Drug Treatment that will start in Southern and Eastern Africa - PharmAccess International announced today that it will participate in a program to expand employee healthcare in collaboration with the Coca Cola Africa Foundation and the Coca Cola Bottlers. Other partners in the program are Population Services International and GlaxoSmithKline. (PharmAccess International, 26 Sep. 2002)

HIV/AIDS: Commonwealth Forum Urges Businesses To Respond To Crisis (UN Wire, 25 Sep. 2002)

• Firms 'must wake up to Aids' - Business bosses gathered at the Commonwealth business forum in London have been urged to take a leadership role in tackling Africa's Aids/HIV crisis...Dr Cleves [Dr Julia Cleves, a senior policy advisor at UNAIDS] praised the work of a select few big multinational firms such as Anglo American, Standard Chartered Bank and Ford for being "golden lights who are no longer afraid of dealing with the problem". (BBC News, 24 Sep. 2002)

Aids lobbyists tackle drug giants [South Africa] -...AIDS activists lodged complaints against two pharmaceutical giants yesterday, accusing them of over-pricing their medicines and causing thousands of deaths. The Treatment Action Campaign (TAC) AIDS lobby group and others lodged the complaints against GlaxoSmithKline, which has its headquarters in Britain, and Boehringer Ingelheim, of Germany, with South Africa's Competition Commission.  (AFP, in Business Day [South Africa], 20 Sep. 2002)

• Drug companies come under fire - Complaint to commission may leave drug companies open to public scrutiny Science and Education Correspondent -...The complaint, brought by AIDS activists, trade unionists, health care professionals and individuals living with HIV/AIDS, alleges that Glaxo and Boehringer are currently charging prices in excess of the economic value of their drugs. (Business Day [South Africa], 20 Sep. 2002)

Harmony, labour sign Aids pact - Harmony, the South African gold miner, yesterday signed an agreement with its labour organisations on measures to reduce the number of HIV/Aids infections among employees, their families and communities. (Justin Brown, Business Day [South Africa], 20 Sep. 2002)

Taking on the drug giants [South Africa] - Nontsikelelo Zwedala, an HIV-positive squatter from Philippi in the Western Cape, has joined the Treatment Action Campaign (TAC) and the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) in a move to force two pharmaceutical giants to cut the cost of their Aids drugs. They have filed papers with the Competition Commission, alleging monopolistic abuse of patent power. (Nawaal Deane, Mail & Guardian [South Africa], 19 Sep. 2002)

HIV/AIDS: Drug Maker Urges Stronger Coalition Against Disease - U.N. agencies, pharmaceutical companies, large employers and governments should form a "constructive partnership" to confront the HIV/AIDS crisis in southern Africa, Merck Chief Executive Ray Gilmartin said in Botswana last week. Gilmartin presented a Merck-Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation program in the country as a model of public-private cooperation. The drug maker is giving free anti-retrovirals to Botswana and granting the country $50 million over five years to combat an adult HIV rate of 38.5 percent. Meanwhile, large employers in the region have been negotiating with drug makers to secure HIV/AIDS drugs for their workers. (UN Wire, 16 Sep. 2002)

• Merck seeks wider coalition on Aids - Merck, the US pharmaceutical company, this week called for the strengthening of a private sector coalition to fight the HIV/Aids pandemic ravaging southern Africa. (James Lamont, Financial Times, 12 Sep. 2002)

Patent laws hamper war on poverty - The fight against poverty in the developing world is being hampered by stringent patent laws imposed by rich countries, an independent commission said (Heather Stewart, Guardian [UK], 13 Sep. 2002)

• PATENTS - Panel slams patent burden on poor - Poor countries have little to gain and plenty to lose from adopting Western levels of patent protection, a group of experts appointed by the British government said on Thursday. The Commission on Intellectual Property Rights concluded that a global drive to expand patent protection would mean higher-priced medicines and seeds for most developing countries (Ben Hirschler, Reuters, 12 Sep 2002)

HIV/AIDS: Hope Of Free Treatment Draws Botswana's Neighbors - Rising numbers of southern African HIV/AIDS sufferers are going to Botswana because of its free anti-retroviral drug program...Botswana is the only southern African country to offer universal provision of anti-retroviral drugs through a partnership with U.S. pharmaceutical company Merck and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. (UN Wire, 12 Sep. 2002)

Old Mutual to provide anti-Aids drugs to staff [South Africa] - Old Mutual would provide life-prolonging anti-Aids drugs to its HIV-positive staff who needed the treatment, the financial services group said yesterday. (Reuters, 11 Sep. 2002)

Cipla prompts a worldwide slide in the price of anti-HIV drugs - The Indian pharmaceutical’s move has made anti-HIV drugs more accessible to patients (InfoChange [India]) [added to this website on 10 Sep. 2002]

China may break Aids drug patents - China will be forced to break patents on Western Aids drugs unless foreign pharmaceutical companies agree to cut prices by early next year, a top health official said. (BBC News, 6 Sep. 2002)

MEDICINES: WHO Releases First-Ever Guide To Essential Drugs -...According to the WHO, only two-thirds of the population in developing countries have access to essential medicines, despite the fact that drugs can represent up to 40 percent of the cost of such countries' health care budgets. (UN Wire, 5 Sep. 2002)

Ecology opens for business [World Summit on Sustainable Development] -...Sir Mark [Sir Mark Moody-Stuart, former chairman of Shell who now heads Business Action for Sustainable Development] is lobbying for global leaders to disregard calls by NGOs to introduce multilateral rules governing business conduct. "The summit is taking place just as massive corporate scandals are undermining economic growth and confidence throughout the world. There is widespread recognition that self-regulation has failed," says Daniel Graymore, a campaigner for Christian Aid, the UK charity. Sir Mark concedes that greater corporate accountability is needed. But he argues that standards for business should be enforced at a national rather than global level...while some NGOs remain openly hostile to business, others are keen to work with it. BASD is promoting 230 partnerships between business and NGOs at the summit. They include the secondment of staff from HSBC, the banking group, to Earthwatch environmental projects, carmaker Fiat's development of gas-powered cars and the treatment of sleeping sickness in Africa by Aventis, the pharmaceuticals group. (James Lamont & John Mason, Financial Times, 31 Aug. 2002) 

UN to focus on corporate help to fight Aids - The United Nations has abandoned its policy of relying on governments to tackle the HIV/Aids crisis in the developing world, saying it would now help fund corporate initiatives to provide anti-retroviral drugs to sufferers...Richard Holbrooke, president of the Global Business Coalition on Aids, a grouping of 75 international companies, and former US ambassador to the UN, said the policy change was "an important step in the right direction". He said: "If Anglo American and De Beers take leadership, it will pressure other companies to take similar steps. It will finally get corporations to take up their role in the process [to fight HIV/Aids]. Up to now, business has been doing less than 10 per cent of what they should have done." (James Lamont, Financial Times, 29 Aug. 2002)

Business: Sir Mark Moody-Stuart [former Chairman of the Royal Dutch/Shell Group & head of the main industry lobby group at the World Summit for Sustainable Development] Helps Corporations With High Visibility at Johannesburg Summit - "There is a great deal of mutual distrust, which we have to get over," said Moody-Stuart in an exclusive interview with The Earth Times. "We believe in good international governance for issues like climate change and trade. It is a myth that we are not in favour of regulation."...Moody-Stuart has come to this summit with proposals of over one hundred such partnerships between corporations, non-governmental organizations and governments. One such partnership is a project between Merck & Co., GlaxoSmithKline, UNICEF, World Bank to improve access to AIDS care in the hardest-hit regions of the world. (Preeti Dawra, Earth Times, 28 Aug. 2002)

AIDS Activists from 21 African Countries Launch Pan-African HIV/AIDS Treatment Access Movement - At World Summit on Sustainable Development, Activists Demand Access to Affordable HIV/AIDS Treatment for all Africans with HIV/AIDS - Activists to Hold Governments, Multilateral Agencies, and the Private Sector Accountable for Meeting WHO Target of at Least 3 Million People in Developing World on ARV Treatment by 2005 (Médecins Sans Frontières, 26 Aug. 2002)

UN says earth summit will focus on Aids -...The focus on HIV/Aids is likely to open the debate on the affordability of anti-retroviral drugs...The debate on HIV/Aids is likely to involve the corporate sector, which is represented at the summit by 50 chief executives of multinational companies. (James Lamont, Financial Times, 25 Aug. 2002)

HIV/AIDS: Zambia To Offer Free Anti-Retroviral Drugs (UN Wire, 23 Aug. 2002)

TRADE: New Study Examines How WTO Agreements Affect Public Health - Public health must be taken into consideration in the drafting of trade rules, according to a joint study released today by the World Trade Organization and the World Health Organization...The 171-page study, WTO Agreements and Public Health, says nations should be able to restrict imports and exports when the health of its people or wildlife is affected. It examines issues including infectious disease control, food safety, tobacco, environment, access to drugs, health services, food security and biotechnology. (UN Wire, 22 Aug. 2002)

• WTO Agreements and Public Health — A joint study by WHO and the WTO Secretariat (World Trade Organization, 20 Aug. 2002)

• {···español} Los acuerdos de la OMC y la salud pública — un estudio conjunto de la OMS y la Secretaría de la OMC (Organización Mundial del Comercio, 20 agosto 2002)

• {···français} Les accords de l'OMC et la santé publique, étude conjointe de l'OMS et du Secrétariat de l'OMC (l’Organisation mondiale du Commerce, 20 août 2002)

• full report: WTO Agreements and Public Health (World Health Organization and the World Trade Organization Secretariat, Aug. 2002)

• {···español} Los acuerdos de la OMC y la salud pública (La Organización Mundial de la Salud y la Secretaría de la Organización Mundial del Comercio, agosto 2002)

• {···français} Les accords de l'OMC et la santé publique (L'Organisation mondiale de la Santé et le Secrétariat de l’Organisation mondiale du Commerce, août 2002)

Zim firms dither as AIDS menace worsens - Zimbabwe's commercial and industrial sector lags behind its counterparts in South Africa in energetically tackling the HIV/AIDS pandemic, which threatens to decimate at least 25 percent of Zimbabwe's productive age. (Nqobile Nyathi, Financial Gazette [Zimbabwe], 22 Aug. 2002)

DRUGS: Nonprofit Manufacturer Seeks To Fill Gaps - The San Francisco Chronicle reported yesterday on the world's first nonprofit pharmaceutical firm, the Institute for OneWorld Health, which is leading the development, testing and production of drugs to fight diseases that threaten millions in Asia and Latin America. Many of the drugs have been abandoned by commercial firms because they lack significant profit potential. (UN Wire, 20 Aug. 2002)

• Drug firm seeks cures over cash - S.F. nonprofit wants to help poor nations (David Perlman, San Francisco Chronicle, 19 Aug. 2002)

• Institute for OneWorld Health: The mission of the Institute for OneWorld Health is to develop new, essential and affordable medicines for neglected diseases (Institute for OneWorld Health)

HIV/AIDS: China Producing Cheaper, Local Treatment - Chinese drug maker Northeast Pharmaceutical Group said yesterday that it will begin offering China's first locally produced HIV/AIDS drug, a version of zidovudine, as early as next month, the state-run China Daily reports. The move is expected to reduce greatly the cost of the medication. (UN Wire, 16 Aug. 2002)

HIV/AIDS: South African Exchange May Require Company Infection Rate Lists - Responding to investor concern about the potential impact of HIV/AIDS on South Africa's economy during the next 10 to 15 years, the Johannesburg Stock Exchange is considering a proposal that would require its listed companies to report infection rates among their employees and detail their efforts to fight the disease, the Financial Times reports today. (UN Wire, 15 Aug. 2002)

• S African companies face Aids reporting requirement (James Lamont, Financial Times, 15 Aug. 2002)

Gold Fields urges workers to test for HIV [South Africa] - Gold Fields chief executive Ian Cockerill turned guinea pig yesterday when he and several union leaders volunteered for an HIV/Aids test at the company's Driefontein mine. Cockerill's test...was the curtain-raiser to the launch of Gold Fields' Informed, Consented, Voluntary Counselling and Testing and wellness management programme for employees. (Andrew Davidson, Business Report [South Africa], 14 Aug. 2002)

Gay Labor Goes Global in Australia - Some 300 gay labor activists from 25 countries are expected to attend the Workers Out! World Conference of Lesbian and Gay Trade Unionists in Sydney, Australia...We'll be discussing ways to integrate defense of lgbt rights into the human rights programs of national and international trade union structures — the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions adopted a resolution opposing discrimination on grounds of sexuality in 2000...Another priority is implementing workplace policies on HIV and other chronic diseases, along with enabling access to anti-retroviral medicines. In particular, we're pressuring leading transnational employers to buy generic anti-HIV drugs for their employees in the Pacific, Latin America, Africa and Asia. (The Gully, 13 Aug. 2002)

HIV/AIDS: De Beers Announces Plan To Provide Access To Treatment - De Beers will provide access to anti-retroviral treatment worldwide for employees and their spouses or partners as part of anti-HIV/AIDS efforts, the company said today. (UN Wire, 12 Aug. 2002)

• De Beers to provide access to HIV/AIDS anti-retroviral drug treatment (De Beers, 12 Aug. 2002)

TAC urges corporates to follow Anglo's lead [South Africa] - The Treatment Action Campaign (TAC) yesterday urged the rest of corporate South Africa to follow Anglo American's lead and pay for the antiretroviral treatment of their HIV-positive employees. (Sherilee Bridge, Business Report [South Africa], 8 Aug. 2002)

• NUM urges mines to form a united front [South Africa] - It was about time the mining industry adopted a common strategy to fighting HIV/Aids, the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) said yesterday. (Mokgadi Pela, Business Report [South Africa], 7 Aug. 2002)

• Mining industry hesitates over drugs [South Africa] - The mining industry remained reluctant to rush into providing free anti-retrovirals to their employees despite Anglo American's announcement yesterday it would pay for the HIV/Aids drugs. (Sherilee Bridge, Business Report [South Africa], 7 Aug. 2002)

• BP provides care for HIV employees, dependents [South Africa] - British Petroleum (BP) Southern Africa realised back in 1996 that HIV/Aids was affecting its strategy of growing its businesses in southern Africa. So it developed a policy to supply antiretrovirals and medical care to all employees, their spouses and dependents, if they required it. (Edward West, Business Report [South Africa], 8 Aug. 2002)

Mining Company to Offer H.I.V. Drugs to Employees - After more than a year of mixed signals, the mining company Anglo American P.L.C., which is confronted with a crushing AIDS burden in Africa, said today that it would begin supplying life-prolonging drugs to all its employees who are H.I.V. positive...The rates of H.I.V. infection among adults in Botswana, Namibia, South Africa and Zimbabwe — countries where Anglo operates — are among the highest in the world. (Henri E. Cauvin, New York Times, 7 Aug. 2002)

• Anglo tackles HIV/Aids threat - South Africa's biggest company, diversified miner Anglo American, said on Tuesday it planned to start distributing anti-Aids drugs to its HIV-positive staff. (Hilary Gush, Reuters, 6 Aug. 2002)

South Africa's Aids apartheid -...People who are HIV positive are therefore beginning to raise demands far beyond the question of medical treatment: the rebuilding of public services, access to an unconditional basic income of 100 rand (10 euros) a month, workers' rights...Too expensive for the poorest countries, these drugs [antiretrovirals] are at the heart of the debate on globalisation. Can patents take precedence over the right to life? (Philippe Rivière, Le Monde diplomatique, Aug. 2002)

Bayer and the UN Global Compact - How and Why a Major Pharmaceutical and Chemical Company "Bluewashes" its Image -...Bayer's use of the Global Compact is a classic case of "bluewash" -- using the good reputation of the United Nations to present a corporate humanitarian image without a commitment to changing real-world behavior [includes reference to conduct during World Wars I and II, pesticide & environmental issues] (Philipp Mimkes, Coalition Against Bayer Dangers, Corpwatch website, 19 July 2002)

• Why Bayer's Corporate Image May Need a Face Lift [sections entitled "Biotech Controversy"; "Didn't Pull HIV Infected Products From the Market"; "Tried to Suppress Cheaper Generics"] (Phillipp Mimkes, Coalition Against Bayer Dangers, Corpwatch website, 19 July 2002)

• company website: Bayer AG 

Rio + 10 Series: UNAIDS' Accelerating Access Initiative May Decelerate Access: ACT UP Paris criticizes Accelerating Access, a joint United Nations/pharmaceutical industry initiative, for limiting price reduction on AIDS medicine in developing nations. -...Accelerating Access Initiative...consists of five pharmaceutical companies: Boehringer Ingelheim, Bristol-Myers Squibb, GlaxoSmithKline, Hoffman-LaRoche, and Merck. (William Baue, SocialFunds.com, 19 July 2002) 

• Accelerating Access to HIV Care, Support and Treatment (UNAIDS)

HIV/AIDS: Anti-Retroviral Drug Prices Fall Unevenly In Latin America, Caribbean - The Pan American Health Organization announced yesterday that the prices of anti-retroviral drugs dropped "dramatically" last year in Latin America and the Caribbean region, due to agreements between pharmaceutical companies and health ministries. Yet PAHO found wide differences between 14 countries it examined (UN Wire, 19 July 2002)

New Standard for Corporate Social Responsibility of Drugs Companies - Oxfam, Save the Children and VSO have developed an industry standard for assessing the corporate social responsibility of drugs companies in responding to the health crisis in the developing world. - In a new report, Beyond Philanthropy, published today, the three development agencies propose a set of benchmarks to assist investors in assessing the social responsibility of pharmaceutical companies. These benchmarks relate to company policies and practices in five key areas which impact on access to medicines for the 14 million children and adults who die each year from infectious diseases, especially HIV/AIDS. The key areas are: pricing, patents, joint public private initiatives, research and development and appropriate use of medicines. (Oxfam, Save the Children and VSO, 16 July 2002)

• full report: Beyond Philanthropy: the pharmaceutical industry, corporate social responsibility and the developing world (Oxfam, Save the Children and VSO, July 2002)

Ethiopia builds leadership to stem HIV/AIDS epidemic - Ethiopia is mobilizing more than 250 leaders at all levels of government and civil society to step up efforts to reduce the number of people contracting HIV/AIDS and improve treatment and care for those infected with the disease...The process will span nine months, involving leaders from all sectors of society including government officials and civil society organizations, such as youth groups, religious organizations, women's groups and the private sector. (U.N. Development Programme, 11 July 2002)

Generic competition leads to dramatic drop in price of AIDS medicines - Research published by Oxfam clearly shows that the availability of cheap generic medicines in developing countries plays a significant role in cutting the price of patented antiretrovirals (ARVs) and in increasing the number of patients who have access to the lifesaving medicines. (Oxfam International, 10 July 2002)

HIV/AIDS: Caribbean States, Drug Firms Reach Deal On Cheaper Medicine - The 15 nations of the Caribbean Community have reached an agreement with a group of major pharmaceutical firms to receive discounts of up to 90 percent for HIV/AIDS-related drugs...The six companies involved are: Bristol-Myers Squibb, Merck & Co., Abbott Laboratories, GlaxoSmithKline, Hoffmann-La Roche AG and Boehringer Ingelheim (UN Wire, 9 July 2002)

• Cheaper AIDS Drugs for Caribbean (Bert Wilkinson, Associated Press, 7 July 2002) 

Trade Unions Call For More Integrated Workplace Approaches to AIDS/HIV -...world trade union bodies are calling on national governments to institute more integrated approaches to deal with the scourge of HIV/AIDS by implementing concrete measures at the workplace level...Trade unions have stepped up efforts to encourage governments and stakeholders to make the new ILO Code of Practice for HIV/AIDS a central tool for implementation of solutions, world-wide (International Confederation of Free Trade Unions, 5 July 2002)

South Africa 'must provide Aids drug' - South Africa's constitutional court has ordered the government to provide a key anti-Aids drug at all public hospitals. The drug helps prevent mother-to-child transmission of HIV-Aids. (BBC News, 5 July 2002)

HIV plan saves lives and cash [South Africa] - Cosatu and the Treatment Action Campaign are to table a national HIV/Aids treatment plan in Nedlac following the first national treatment conference, which concluded in Durban this week. This will allow Cosatu to declare a dispute with government and business should no agreement be reached in the National Economic, Development and Labour Council on implementation of the treatment plan. (Kerry Cullinan, Business Day [South Africa], 30 June 2002)

Analysis: HIV / AIDS and reputation management in the Pharmaceutical Industry (Lynne M Copeland, in Ethical Corporation Magazine, 28 June 2002)

Abbott Rolls Out New Effort to Combat Malaria, AIDS in Africa - Returning from a recent trip to Tanzania, Abbott Laboratories Chief Executive Officer Miles White has decided to invest in Tanzanian communities and improve the company’s efforts to combat AIDS and malaria throughout Africa. (BSR [Business for Social Responsibility] News Monitor summary of article in Wall Street Journal, 27 June 2002)

HIV/AIDS: U.N. Releases New Annual Report On Cheapest Drugs - The World Health Organization and other groups released an annual report yesterday intended to help developing nations find the cheapest available medicines for treating HIV/AIDS...Though the prices of many drugs needed for HIV/AIDS care and support including anti-retroviral drugs have been significantly reduced for poor countries, they are still not widely affordable in developing countries, the WHO says (UN Wire, 27 June 2002)

• New survey gives poor countries information on more affordable AIDS drugs (UNICEF, UNAIDS, WHO and Médecins Sans Frontières, 26 June 2002)

• {···français} Une nouvelle enquête donne aux pays pauvres les informations sur les médicaments les moins coûteux contre le SIDA (UNICEF, ONUSIDA, OMS et Médecins Sans Frontières, 26 juin 2002)

• full report: Sources and prices of selected drugs and diagnostics for people living with HIV / AIDS (UNICEF, UNAIDS, WHO and Médecins Sans Frontières, May 2002)

HIV/AIDS: U.S., EU Back Easing Of Drug Patent Constraints -...The newspaper [Wall Street Journal] reports U.S. drug makers and, apparently, the Bush administration are supporting a WTO-administered waiver system, with countries obtaining generics on a case-by-case basis, while the EU is for an amendment to the TRIPS pact (UN Wire, 25 June 2002)

HIV/AIDS II: U.S. Forum Urges Business To Do More To Combat Disease - The increased support of small businesses is especially important if corporate efforts against the global HIV/AIDS pandemic are to make progress, Corporate Council on Africa President Stephen Hayes said yesterday at a U.S. State Department-sponsored forum. (Michael Kitchen, UN Wire, 25 June 2002)

Retreat on Fighting Global AIDS -...Washington's contribution to the global fund, which should be on the order of $2.5 billion a year, is about a tenth of that...Washington should also end its campaign to restrict the use of generic drugs to treat AIDS and other diseases...But it [U.S. policy of opposing use of generic drugs for treating AIDS] does reflect the wishes of the drug companies — several of which sponsored a $30 million fund-raiser Wednesday night for Republican candidates at which President Bush spoke. (editorial, New York Times, 21 June 2002)

• HIV/AIDS: New York Times Slams New Bush Initiative -...The Times blames political opportunism, saying the president's initiative "does reflect the wishes of the drug companies -- several of which sponsored a $30 million fundraiser Wednesday night" for candidates from Bush's Republican party (UN Wire, 21 June 2002)

Chambers team with UN to combat AIDS - World Chambers Federation (WCF) has joined forces with UNAIDS as an official partner of the 2002-2003 World AIDS campaign. Using WCF's global network of chambers of commerce to share experience and spread information, UNAIDS says it hopes to take the battle against the epidemic to the work place and highlight the fact that AIDS is an economic problem as well as a health problem. (World Chambers Federation, 17 June 2002)

conference: National HIV/AIDS Treatment Congress Hosted by the Congress of South African Trade Unions and the Treatment Action Campaign: 27--29 June 2002, Durban, South Africa -...This historic Congress aims to unify Trade Unions, NGO's, AIDS service organisations, religious groups, health-care workers, scientists, businesses and government on the need for an emergency treatment plan to deal with the HIV/AIDS epidemic. [posted on this website 5 June 2002]

HIV/AIDS: Zimbabwe Lifts Import Restrictions On Drugs - Zimbabwe's Justice Ministry has invoked emergency powers and officially lifted import restrictions on drugs for HIV/AIDS treatment, allowing generic forms to enter the country without lengthy testing and registration procedures. (UN Wire, 29 May 2002)

NamPower workers take HIV test [Namibia] -...Among ideas being floated in the company's corridors is the provision of anti-retroviral drugs to HIV-positive employees. (Christof Maletsky, The Namibian, 28 May 2002)

VACCINES: UNICEF Chief Warns Of Global Shortage -...The Globe and Mail reports the root of the problem is an ongoing pharmaceutical industry shakeup, with mergers leading to the cancellation of production of relatively unprofitable childhood vaccines. Another factor is that since countries commit funds to UNICEF one year at a time, the agency can sign only one-year contracts with vaccine providers. (UN Wire, 28 May 2002)

• Shrinking supply of basic vaccines alarms Unicef chief (André Picard, Globe and Mail [Canada], 28 May 2002)

Chief executives ignore a mass murderer cutting a swathe through workers and customers [South Africa] - According to the latest survey conducted by Deloitte & Touche and commissioned by the SA Business Coalition on HIV/Aids, South African companies do not have a strategy to deal with the threat of HIV/Aids. But most shocking is that business leaders do not seem to think that HIV/Aids will have an impact on their employees, and therefore their businesses. (Business Report [South Africa], 26 May 2002)

• Brazil says tames AIDS -...But Brazil has also enraged the pharmaceutical industry with its policy of developing copies of patented drugs and using the copies as bargaining chips -- without putting the drugs on the market -- to force big firms to slash prices. (Reuters, 21 May 2002)

• {···português} Redução de casos de aids em 2001 chegou a 25% [Brasil] (Sandra Sato, O Estado de S. Paulo [Brasil], 21 maio 2002)

AIDS Healthcare Foundation to Bar GlaxoSmithKline Sales Reps from Outpatient Facilities Over Drug Pricing For Developing World - GlaxoSmith Kline, which is the largest producer of HIV/AIDS medications, charges twice as much for their drugs in the developing world as all other HIV pharmaceutical companies. In addition, GSK does not make major charitable donations to aid people with AIDS in the developing world. (AIDS Healthcare Foundation, 21 May 2002)

• company website: GlaxoSmithKline in Global Partnership with HIV/AIDS Communities (GlaxoSmithKline)

• company website: Global Community Partnerships (GlaxoSmithKline)

HEALTH: Research Benefits the Few, Overlooks Prevailing Diseases - A sharp imbalance continues between the resources earmarked for researching diseases predominant in the industrialised world and for those prevalent in poor countries, but experts and activists are confident that the disparity can be reduced. (Gustavo Capdevila, Inter Press Service, 20 May 2002)

Gates' charity shifts policy - Bill Gates, the Microsoft founder and a recent global health campaigner, has invested $205m in nine large pharmaceutical companies. The investment has been made through the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation...Investment in drugs firms could leave the foundation open to criticism. (David Teather, Guardian [UK], 18 May 2002)

POLIO: Wyeth Gives $1 Million For Eradication In Africa - Drug maker Wyeth today contributed $1 million to help the Polio Eradication Private Sector Campaign's Global Polio Laboratory Network eradicate polio in African countries still affected by the disease. (UN Wire, 13 May 2002)

MALARIA: Bayer, WHO Agree On Developing Inexpensive Vaccine - German drug maker Bayer yesterday said it has signed an agreement with the World Health Organization to develop an affordable malaria vaccine for use in developing countries. (UN Wire, 8 May 2002)

HIV/AIDS: IAVI, Swedish Firm Cooperate On Vaccine Research - Swedish biotechnology firm Bioption AB and the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative yesterday announced a partnership to develop and test new HIV/AIDS vaccines to target HIV subtypes common in developing countries (UN Wire, 7 May 2002)

• Sweden's Bioption, IAVI partnering to develop globally accessible AIDS vaccines (International AIDS Vaccine Initiative, 6 May 2002)

Business community has key role to play in fight against AIDS, Fréchette [U.N. Deputy Secretary-General Louise Fréchette] says -...The Deputy Secretary-General noted that business could have a key impact in the fight against the disease...by making changes in the workplace, including drawing up effective AIDS policies and ensuring effective support and care for infected employees...she also underlined the role to be played by businesses as financial supporters. (United Nations, 6 May 2002)

HIV/AIDS: Kenya Moves To Import, Make Cheap Drugs - A Kenyan law allowing generic and other inexpensive anti-retroviral HIV/AIDS drugs to be imported into Kenya and manufactured in the country came into effect yesterday. Drug companies blasted the country, but aid agencies said the move will lead to greatly expanded access to drugs for Kenyans with HIV. (UN Wire, 2 May 2002)

• Cheaper Aids drugs for Kenyans (Ishbel Matheson, BBC News, 1 May 2002)

HIV/AIDS: Jeffrey Sachs Says African Economic Development At Risk - Economic success in Africa does not have a chance unless governments provide the necessary funds to combat the rampant HIV/AIDS pandemic on the continent, renowned economist Jeffrey Sachs told the U.N. Economic and Social Council yesterday. (UN Wire, 2 May 2002)

• Under-funded AIDS fight harms African economies (Reuters, 1 May 2002)

MSF comments on the Draft Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) [refers to access to life-saving medicines] (Médecins Sans Frontières, 1 May 2002)

WHO says genetic research could save millions of lives - Genetic research into new medicines could save millions of lives in the developing world within a few years, the World Health Organisation said yesterday...However, the WHO also warned that without greater funding of research into developing country diseases and less patenting of genetic information, these scientific advances could also lead to a widening of inequality between poor and rich nations. (Geoff Dyer, Financial Times, 1 May 2002) 

• Genome research can save millions in developing world: WHO Report Calls for Genetic Medicine Benefits for All (World Health Organization, 30 Apr. 2002)

• {···français} La recherche genomique peut sauver des millions de vies dans les pays en developpement: L'OMS publie un rapport en faveur de la médecine génétique pour tous (Organisation mondiale de la Santé, 30 avril 2002)

• GENOMICS: WHO Says Developing Nations Should Stay Abreast Of Research (UN Wire, 1 May 2002)

Leadership Example: Novo Nordisk: Integrating CSR Into Business Operations - Novo Nordisk [pharmaceutical company based in Denmark] is dedicated to the Triple Bottom Line (TBL) approach to sustainability - balancing social and environmental responsibility with economic viability. Their approach began with addressing environmental issues; bioethics, human rights and access to health care in developing countries followed in succession. (BSR Magazine, Business for Social Responsibility, May 2002) 

Men and women of steel take up arms in Aids war [ South Africa] [refers to National Union of Mineworkers commitment to addressing workplace AIDS issues; refers to steps taken by employers: Gold Fields, AngloGold, Matla Coal] (Business Report [South Africa], 30 Apr. 2002)

WHO Announcement On Africa Malaria Day Signals Positive Shift In Treatment Policy -...A key barrier to switching to ACT is that it is ten to twenty times more expensive than currently used antimalarials. MSF calls on WHO to identify and validate additional and less expensive sources of artemisinin derivatives. (Médecins Sans Frontières, 25 Apr. 2002)

Kenya Facing Acute Shortages of AIDS Drugs - ...Kimbo [Liza Kimbo of the Kenya Coalition for Access to Essential Medicines] says the Kenyan government should end the branded drug companies' monopoly. If generic versions of the drugs were available in Kenya, increased competition would encourage the big five to ensure that stocks do not run out. (Katy Salmon, Inter Press Service, 23 Apr. 2002)

New global fund shows world's resolve to fight AIDS, TB and malaria, Annan says -...To date, industrialized and developing countries, corporations, foundations and individuals have pledged some $1.9 billion to the Fund. (United Nations, 23 Apr. 2002)

HIV/AIDS: WHO Releases Guidelines For Developing World Treatment -...Carmen Perez, pharmaceutical director for the Doctors Without Borders campaign to make drugs more affordable, called the WHO guidelines "a very good victory," which "show[s] that treatment can be done." (UN Wire, 23 Apr. 2002)

• W.H.O. Moves to Make AIDS Drugs More Accessible to Poor Worldwide (Donald G. McNeil Jr., New York Times, 23 Apr. 2002)

• WHO Urges Global Drug Treatment of HIV: Guidelines Issued for Administering Triple Therapy in Developing Countries -...Triple therapy became widely available in wealthy countries in 1996. Since 2000, there has been a rising call to make it available to people in poor and middle-income countries, too. (David Brown, Washington Post, 23 Apr. 2002)

Access to medication in the context of pandemics such as HIV/AIDS - [United Nations] Commission on Human Rights resolution 2002/32 -...The Commission on Human Rights...Calls upon States to pursue policies...which would promote...The accessibility to all without discrimination, including the most vulnerable sectors of the population, of such pharmaceuticals or medical technologies and their affordability for all, including socially disadvantaged groups (U.N. Commission on Human Rights, adopted without a vote [by consensus], 22 Apr. 2002)

April 19th 2002 is a bittersweet celebration: AIDS treatment still reaching but a fraction of all those in need (Médecins Sans Frontières, 19 Apr. 2002)

"Current Efforts Meager!" Shareholders Challenge Abbott to Treat AIDS Pandemic in Africa with Affordable Drugs - Calling the company's current AIDS treatment programs "meager", religious and union shareholders are challenging Abbott Laboratories to make life-saving HIV/AIDS medicines accessible and affordable in African countries where AIDS is pandemic. (Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility, 17 Apr. 2002)

HIV/AIDS II: Botswana Expands Nationwide Treatment Program -...Botswana expects to spend nearly $200 million during the next three to five years to expand its program, with funding from pharmaceutical-giant Merck and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. (UN Wire, 10 Apr. 2002)

British Budget Could Lead to Drugs Dumping, Says Charity: Tax incentives in Britain designed to increase access in developing countries to essential medicines could backfire by giving pharmaceuticals companies a free hand to offload unwanted, dangerous, or inappropriate medicines, according to a leading anti-poverty group [London-based War on Want]. (Penny Dale, OneWorld Africa, 9 Apr. 2002)

HIV/AIDS: Highest South African Court Orders Drug Provision - In what the London Independent reports is the end of a long legal battle, the highest court in South Africa last week ordered the government of President Thabo Mbeki to provide the HIV/AIDS drug nevirapine in state hospitals to pregnant women with HIV. (UN Wire, 8 Apr. 2002)

• Mandela attacks Mbeki's failure to recognise nation's Aids crisis [South Africa] -...The latest Tac court victory is a crucial one, because it obliges the government to act on earlier rulings that, among other things, it has a constitutional obligation to try to save children's lives. South Africa's Bill of Rights assures socio-economic as well as legal human rights. (Karen MacGregor, Independent [UK], 5 Apr. 2002)

Broadening the Corporate Commitment to HIV and AIDS [refers to positive steps by Coca-Cola, Hewlett-Packard, Unilever, Anglo American, BHP Billiton, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Merck, DaimerChrysler, De Beers] (Business for Social Responsibility, Apr. 2002)

HIV/AIDS: Cheap Drugs Reaching Only A Fraction Of African Sufferers - ...New pricing arrangements offered by five major pharmaceutical manufacturers UNAIDS' Accelerating Access Initiative, launched in May 2000, provide traditional AIDS drugs for as low as 67 cents a day, but the price is still too high for many Africans, whose per capita income is often less than $1 a day. (UN Wire, 29 Mar. 2002)

HIV/AIDS: High Court Turns Down South African Appeal Against Nevirapine - South Africa's High Court in Pretoria yesterday turned down the government's latest appeal on a ruling ordering it to provide pregnant women with the anti-AIDS drug nevirapine -- which is estimated to cut mother-to-child HIV infection rates in half -- while its case comes before the Constitutional Court. (UN Wire, 26 Mar. 2002)

HIV/AIDS: Drug Companies Oppose U.N. Approval Of Generics - A group of pharmaceutical companies yesterday criticized the inclusion of generic drugs on a newly issued World Health Organization list of approved HIV/AIDS medicine, arguing that the cheaper drugs could lower treatment quality and even lead to drug-resistant strains...The WHO, however, says the federation's claims are unfounded...Medecins Sans Frontieres expressed support for the WHO's inclusion of generics. (UN Wire, 22 Mar. 2002) 

• Generic AIDS drugs on UN list: In a move that delighted activists campaigning for cheaper AIDS drugs, the World Health Organization on Wednesday made public its first list of drug companies that meet its quality standards, and it included a large Indian generic manufacturer and three smaller European ones. (Donald G. McNeil Jr, New York Times, in International Herald Tribune, 21 Mar. 2002)

• Drug manufacturers: approving generic AIDS drugs could reduce quality (Naomi Koppel, Associated Press, 21 Mar. 2002) 

Waive tax on Aids drugs, says industry [South Africa] - The government could cut the cost of providing HIV/Aids drugs by simply waiving tax on anti-retrovirals, pharmaceutical companies suggested yesterday. (Sherilee Bridge, Business Report [South Africa], 19 Apr. 2002)

Report Diagnoses Ills in the Pharmaceutical Sector: A German rating agency reports that many pharmaceutical companies are failing to follow the example of the sector’s leaders in solving environmental and social problems...The report analyzed the 22 largest pharmaceutical companies in the world, based on more than 200 social and environmental criteria...Denmark-based Novo Group and U.S.-based Bristol-Myers Squibb led the class with B grades. U.S.-based Pharmacia received the lowest mark, a C-. (Willliam Baue, SocialFunds.com, 19 Mar. 2002)

Mining industry to critically examine treatment of HIV [South Africa] - The mining industry would decide within the next month whether it would embark on a collective feasibility study on the possible provision of anti-retrovirals to miners with HIV/Aids, the Chamber of Mines said yesterday. (Sherilee Bridge, Business Report [South Africa], 18 Apr. 2002)

Urgent need to kick-start R&D for killer diseases in poor countries: International experts call for new public initiatives and global support - Research and development of new medicines for diseases such as sleeping sickness, kala azar, and malaria that kill millions each year in the developing world is urgently needed, according to a group of 150 international experts meeting in New York this week. (Médecins Sans Frontières, 14 Mar. 2002)

CENTRAL AMERICA: U.N. To Help Region Cut Drug Prices - The United Nations will next month launch a Central American project aimed at reducing the price of medication by improving the region's pharmaceutical industry and economic relations (UN Wire, 14 Mar. 2002)

• Iniciativa para reducir el costo de medicamentos: El Salvador será la punta de lanza de un proyecto que busca aprovechar el importante intercambio en la región (Mario Posada, El Diario de Hoy [El Salvador], 13 de marzo 2002)

HIV/AIDS: Court Orders South Africa To Provide Nevirapine During Appeal - South Africa's High Court in Pretoria yesterday ruled that although the government may appeal the court's December ruling calling for the key HIV/AIDS drug nevirapine to be administered at all suitably equipped state hospitals for HIV-positive pregnant women, the drug must be made available in the meantime. (UN Wire, 12 Mar. 2002)

Mandela urges free Aids drugs on demand [South Africa] (Lynne Altenroxel, The Star [Johannesburg], 3 Mar. 2002)

HIV/AIDS: Drugs Used Properly In Developing World, Studies Show - Triple drug therapy for HIV/AIDS patients works about the same in the developing as in the developed world, researchers reported yesterday. The findings contradict a common argument that multiple HIV/AIDS therapies could do more harm than good in the developing world because they are too difficult for poor countries to implement. (UN Wire, 1 Mar. 2002)

• Third World AIDS Studies Bolster Triple Therapy -...One thing that's certain is that drug prices are extremely important determinants of how widely antiretroviral treatment is used in Africa. (David Brown, Washington Post, 28 Feb. 2002)

South African AIDS Activists Go Back to Court: Armed with fresh evidence, South African AIDS activists go to court Friday for the latest round in a long-standing battle to get the government of President Thabo Mbeki to provide all HIV-positive pregnant women with a drug that significantly reduces the risk of transmitting the virus to new-born babies. (Penny Dale, OneWorld Africa, 1 Mar. 2002) 

SAB provides soul support: HIV is the greatest threat to the health of both staff and profits at South African Breweries (Andrew Clark, Guardian [UK], 1 Mar. 2002)

Helping to ensure the right to health in Reporting on the Triple Bottom Line 2001: dealing with dilemmas (Novo Nordisk, Mar. 2002)

TRIPS and Public Health: The next battle -...The Declaration on TRIPS and Public Health agreed at the WTO Ministerial in Doha in November 2001 was an important step forward in the campaign for affordable medicines...However, rich-country governments, under pressure from large companies, are backsliding on their promises and seeking to water down potential solutions. (Oxfam, Mar. 2002)

The latest Novo Nordisk Triple Bottom Line report: 'Reporting on the Triple Bottom Line 2001: Dealing with dilemmas' [social/environmental report by Novo Nordisk; includes sections on: globalisation and its implications for business, access to healthcare in developing countries, intellectual property rights, diversity and equal opportunities in the workplace] (Novo Nordisk, Mar. 2002)

Disease toll among world's poorest keeps pressure on drug companies: Infectious diseases are wreaking havoc in the world's poorest regions, but the high cost of medicine and increasing drug resistance is making the tide of death harder to turn, reports the South China Morning Post. Health authorities blame profit-driven pharmaceutical companies based in developed countries, and NGOs in recent months have become increasingly vocal about bringing prices down. The campaign is starting to have some effect, but health workers warn more needs to be done. (Press review, World Bank website, 28 Feb. 2002)

SA employers urged to help manage Aids: South African employers should actively manage HIV-Aids in the workplace to reduce the effect of the pandemic on business and society, Old Mutual's deputy managing director Peter Moyo said yesterday. (South African Press Association, in Dispatch [South Africa], 27 Feb. 2002)

HIV/AIDS: South Africa To Boost Drug Research, Not Offer Universal Access - South Africa said today it will expand research on use of Nevirapine to curb mother-to-child HIV transmission instead of providing immediate universal access to the drug as activists and some opposition figures have asked. Boehringer-Ingelheim, the manufacturer, has offered South Africa free Nevirapine for the next five years. (UN Wire, 22 Feb. 2002)

HIV/AIDS: Megacities Network Announced At U.N. Meeting To Fight Disease - Representatives from 11 cities around the world [Buenos Aires, Mexico City, New York, Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo, Johannesburg, Mumbai, Lagos, Bangkok, Peking & Belo Horizonte] announced yesterday the formation of the Megacities Network, a worldwide network to fight the scourge of HIV/AIDS [and support universal access to essential medicines]...Buenos Aires delegate Claudio Bloch said...authorities are now negotiating with drug manufacturers to prevent an increase in costs (UN Wire, 21 Feb. 2002)

• {···português} São Paulo, Rio e Belo Horizonte integram rede mundial contra aids: Grupo de 11 cidades fará pressão política para auxiliar o combate à doença (Lígia Formenti, O Estado de S. Paulo [Brasil], 21 fevereiro 2002)

• {···português} Como Johannesburgo combate a aids: Seminário sobre a doença em megacidades mostrou a estratégia na África (Lígia Formenti, O Estado de S. Paulo [Brasil], 20 fevereiro 2002)

Companies 'face rising risks over human rights': Multinational companies face a growing risk of being associated with human rights violations, according to research published in London yesterday by Amnesty International and the Prince of Wales International Business Leaders Forum. The research examines the operations of 129 leading companies in 34 countries where human rights abuses including torture, forced child labour and denial of freedom of expression occur. (Alison Maitland, Financial Times, 13 Feb. 2002)

• full text: Business & Human Rights: A geography of corporate risk - Amnesty International and The Prince of Wales International Business Leaders Forum (IBLF) have collaborated to produce a series of seven detailed world maps, which depict where human rights abuses and violations exist and where leading North American and European multinational companies are at risk of being associated with them. The suite of maps covers the extractive, food and beverages, pharmaceutical and chemical, infrastructure and utilities, heavy manufacturing and defence, and IT Hardware and telecommunications sectors. (Amnesty International UK, and Prince of Wales International Business Leaders Forum, Feb. 2002)

• Atlas pinpoints countries where investment flows despite abuses: A world atlas of countries where multinationals co-exist with regimes inflicting human rights abuse was presented yesterday at the launch of a campaign for ethical investment...The study, the first of its kind, will be used by Amnesty International and the Prince of Wales International Business Leaders Forum to press companies to take account of human rights when making commercial decisions. (Kim Sengupta, Independent [UK], 13 Feb. 2002)

• Atlas warns firms of rights abuses: Campaigners have drawn up a world atlas of human rights violations to alert multinational corporations to the damage that can be caused to their business and reputations by being associated with human rights abuses in countries in which they operate (Guardian [UK], 13 Feb. 2002)

Unlikely Note Is Struck on World Finance Stage - Forum: Bill Gates and Bono challenge the Treasury chief and the U.S. to boost foreign aid...The new focus on health and on environmental problems in poor countries by Gates and other wealthy philanthropists--Ted Turner and the Hewlett and Packard families, among others--has been cited by some U.S. opponents of government assistance as a more efficient and focused form of foreign aid. But Gates argued vigorously here for greatly increased aid from the United States and other official donors. (William Orme, Los Angeles Times, 3 Feb. 2002)

• Gates and Bono give voice to healthcare lobbyists: Bill Gates, the world's richest man, and Bono, the Irish rock star, joined forces on Saturday to urge governments and the private sector to boost levels of spending on global healthcare and disease prevention. (Holly Yeager & Hugh Carnegy, Financial Times, 2 Feb. 2002) 

WTO rules 'detrimental' to developing countries [report from World Social Forum in Porto Alegre, Brazil]: The message from all panellists at the conference was that the World Trade Organisation's rules on intellectual property rights were detrimental to developing countries and that reform efforts at its ministerial meeting in Doha last September were mostly cosmetic. (Raymond Colitt, Financial Times, 3 Feb. 2002) 

W.E.F's [World Economic Forum's] Global Health Initiative: Business as usual while workers die of aids - Activists demand corporations provide AIDS drugs for their workers in poor countries (Health GAP Coalition, 2 Feb. 2002)

World Economic Forum: CEOs Call for Greater Corporate Engagement Against HIV/AIDS, TB and Malaria Leading CEOs from the World Economic Forum’s Global Health Initiative issued an Executive Statement today as a rallying cry to the business community to fight HIV/AIDS, TB and malaria. (World Economic Forum, 2 Feb. 2002)

Will Minister Bend Or Break? [South Africa] The government looks set to buckle under remorseless internal and external pressures and allow pregnant women country-wide access to the drug that could save their children from HIV/Aids (Belinda Beresford & Jaspreet Kindra, Mail & Guardian [Johannesburg], 1 Feb. 2002)

Model of success: Universal access to treatment in Brazil - In the mid-1990s, the Brazilian Ministry of Health (MoH) adopted a policy of universal free access to antiretroviral (ARV) drugs for people with HIV. (id21 Development Research reporting service, Feb. 2002)

Public-Private Partnership Leads Fight Against HIV/Aids [in Botswana]:...The Gates Foundation, partnerships with Merck, Bristol-Myers Squibb and the Harvard AIDS Institute all form "very strong" U.S. components of the southern African nation's Aids fight. (allAfrica.com, 31 Jan. 2002)

HIV/AIDS: Groups Import Generic Drugs Into South Africa, Flouting Patent Laws - Aid agency Medecins Sans Frontieres and the South African AIDS activist group Treatment Action Campaign (TAC) said yesterday they have imported much less expensive generic versions of three anti-retroviral AIDS drugs into South Africa from Brazil, despite local patent protection laws. "Today we have decided to openly break the patent right of the pharmaceutical companies ... because we have decided that the life of a patient cannot be put under the patent right" (UN Wire, 30 Jan. 2002)

TAC, Cosatu bring in cheap Aids drugs [South Africa]: The Treatment Action Campaign and Cosatu are set for another showdown with government - this time because they have brought generic anti-retroviral drugs into the country...Achmat said they had defied the act to force the government to either ask the drug companies for voluntary licences or to apply for compulsory licences, moves that would make the drugs more affordable. (Anso Thom, Star [South Africa], 29 Jan. 2002)

A genuine development agenda for the Doha round of WTO negotiations (Joint statement signed by CAFOD, Save the Children, Oxfam, Action Aid, World Vision, Christian Aid, The Fairtrade Foundation, Traidcraft, ITDG and World Development Movement, 25 Jan. 2002)

World Economic Forum Global Health Initiative Rallies Private Sector to Fight Against HIV, TB and Malaria (World Economic Forum, 23 Jan. 2002)

HIV/AIDS: KwaZulu-Natal To Provide Nevirapine Despite Federal Policy [South Africa] (UN Wire, 23 Jan. 2002)

HIV/AIDS: Mining Executive Expected To Be Named To Global Fund Board - The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, launched by U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan last year, is set to name Anglo American Deputy Chairman Goran Lindahl as its 18th and last board member, the Wall Street Journal reported yesterday...Top fund organizers said last year that drug makers should be centrally involved in the fund's work, but...fund officials worried that having a drug executive on the board would lead to "conflict-of-interest issues." (UN Wire, 22 Jan. 2002)

Activists to oppose govt Aids ruling appeal [South Africa]: Aids activists are planning a series of new lawsuits aimed at widening access to treatment for HIV and Aids patients...The TAC also plans to support a bid by Indian drug company Cipla to secure a licence enabling it to sell in South Africa copies of patented drugs made by international pharmaceutical companies Boehringer Ingelheim and GlaxoSmithKlein. (SAPA/AP, in Dispatch [South Africa], 21 Jan. 2002)

'Conflict of Interest' Charge for Gates-Backed Health Fund: Directors of the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization (GAVI) will be told by the authors of a new health report that they are in danger of putting the sale of costly new vaccines ahead of their aim of halting millions of preventable child deaths..."we must ensure that this initiative does not become a marketing vehicle for the pharmaceutical companies by increasing demand for expensive new vaccines," she [Annie Heaton, private-sector research analyst at Save the Children] said. (Daniel Nelson, OneWorld UK, 18 Jan. 2002) 

Walden Asset Management Announces Shareholder Advocacy Actions for 2002 [includes shareholder resolutions on the following issues & companies: Climate Change - Exxon Mobil, ChevronTexaco and Occidental Petroleum; Mercury Pollution - J.C. Penney and HCA; Indigenous Peoples' Rights - Lehman Brothers; Sweatshop/Vendor Standards - TJX, Kohl's, Delphi Automotive, Hasbro, Sears and Lowes; Health Risk Caused by Cigarette Filters - Eastman Chemical; Drug Accessibility - Abbott, Bristol-Myers Squibb; impact of drilling in environmentally sensitive areas - BP Amoco] (Walden Asset Management, 4 Jan. 2002)

Access to essential medicines (ING Sustainable Growth Fund, Jan. 2002)

Brazil's Successful Anti-AIDS Efforts Set to Expand: The Brazilian government plans to push for a more concerted international effort to come up with an HIV/AIDS vaccine, after the triumphs it has scored in its efforts to manufacture or attain cheap anti-retroviral drugs and make them available to low-income patients free of charge. (Mario Osava, Inter Press Service, 26 Dec. 2001)

Govt to appeal Aids ruling [South Africa]: The health department announced on Wednesday that it would appeal a court ruling compelling the government to provide the anti-retroviral drug Nevirapine to HIV-positive pregnant women. (South African Press Association, on News24.com, 19 Dec. 2001)

GLOBAL FUND [regarding Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria, spearheaded by U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan]:...The board will include an equal number of donor and developing country representatives -- seven each -- as well as two NGO and two private sector seats...Pharmaceutical companies have been excluded from the board amid worries of conflict of interest...The decision has been a disappointment for the industry (UN Wire, 17 Dec. 2001)

Virodene crew peddles new 'Aids drug': South African scientists struck a secret deal with the makers of the banned Aids "cure" Virodene to use an unregistered herbal tablet on HIV-positive patients in 12 African countries. This revelation comes only three months after Virodene researchers were kicked out of Tanzania for illegally importing and testing their discredited anti-Aids drug on civilians and soldiers there. (Jessica Bezuidenhout, Sunday Times [South Africa], in Business Day [South Africa], 16 Dec. 2001)

Botswana seeks Brazilian aid to fight AIDS rampage:...The Brazilian ministry has ignored international drug patents and has been overseeing the production of cheaper anti-AIDS drugs at local laboratories, with annual treatment costs per patient falling from $1,800 to $1,000. (Kyodo News [Japan], 16 Dec. 2001)

Comment: AIDS ruling a victory for ordinary citizens [South Africa] (editorial, City Press [South Africa], 15 Dec. 2001)

The Ouagadougou Appeal: The Access to antiretroviral drugs should be a priority of the Global Health Fund for AIDS, TB, and Malaria (The Ouagadougou Appeal was launched during the XII International Conference on AIDS by NGOs of people with AIDS, Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, 14 December 2001)

Cheers for Aids drug ruling [South Africa]: Pretoria High Court Judge Chris Botha's verdict that the government is obliged to provide the anti-retroviral drug Nevirapine to all HIV-positive pregnant women, was received with jubilation in many quarters on Friday. (News24.com [South Africa], 14 Dec. 2001)

• SA [South Africa] ordered to provide Aids drugs (BBC News, 14 Dec. 2001)

• Pregnant South Africans Win AIDS Help (Dina Kraft, Associated Press, 14 Dec. 2001)

• "A countrywide MTCT [mother-to-child-transmission] prevention programme is an ineluctable obligation of the state" [South Africa] - Pretoria High Court: TAC, Children's Rights Centre and Dr. Haroon Saloojee win court battle against government (Treatment Action Centre [TAC], 14 Dec. 2001)

• Excerpt from judgment TAC and others v Minister of Health and others [South Africa] (High Court of South Africa, Transvaal Provincial Division, 14 Dec. 2001, posted on website of Treatment Action Centre [TAC])

• Full MTCT [mother-to-child-transmission] court case judgement [South Africa] (High Court of South Africa, Transvaal Provincial Division, 14 Dec. 2001, posted on website of Treatment Action Centre [TAC])

African countries negotiate to produce generic HIV drugs: Two African countries are negotiating with Thailand's government to learn how to produce cheap, generic anti-HIV drugs on Africa, the continent hardest-hit by AIDS, the World Health Organization says. Zimbabwe and Ghana are making final deals under which Thailand would provide the technical expertise needed to set up factories to produce the drugs in Africa. (Brahima Ouedraogo, Miami Herald, 14 Dec. 2001)

Wising up to the business implications of HIV/Aids: South African companies are missing out on lucrative returns by failing to see that money spent on HIV/Aids is an investment, rather than a cost, according to a new study into major Southern African companies. (Belinda Beresford, Weekly Mail & Guardian [South Africa], 14 Dec. 2001)

HIV/AIDS: World Bank Official Says Africa Needs Resources To Fight Disease - The World Bank's global HIV/AIDS adviser, Debrework Zewdie, said today at the 12th International Conference on AIDS and Sexually Transmitted Diseases in Africa in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, that Africa needs to be given the resources to combat the HIV/AIDS pandemic and that Africans should not go without new drug treatments because of the cost. (UN Wire, 11 Dec. 2001)

HIV/AIDS: 12th African Conference Hears Demands For Treatment (UN Wire, 10 Dec. 2001)

• Time to turn commitments into action in Africa, UNAIDS says: Echoing Theme of Conference on AIDS in Africa, Piot Calls for Greater Community Commitment, More Country and Private Sector Resources (UNAIDS, 10 Dec. 2001)

• African AIDS meet goes into second day: The 12th International Conference on AIDS and Sexually Transmitted Diseases in Africa (CISMA) goes into a second day, with mounting demands for easier access to treatment on the continent worst-hit by the pandemic at the centre of discussions...Despite the signing of several pacts between African countries and leading global pharmaceutical companies for cheaper medicines, especially anti-retroviral drugs, access to treatment for the average African is still limited and way too expensive. (Agence France-Presse, 10 Dec. 2001)

Business in Africa should respond to Aids by fighting it at the workplace (International Chamber of Commerce, 6 Dec. 2001)

HIV/AIDS: Merck Cuts Prices For China - After "long and intensive negotiations" with China's Health Ministry, the Chinese arm of Merck Sharp and Dohme will slash by two-thirds the price of the HIV/AIDS drugs Crixivan and Stocrin in the country beginning this month (UN Wire, 3 Dec. 2001)

• Merck cuts AIDS drug price in China (AFX Press, 3 Dec. 2001)

Report from Doha: Intrigue at the WTO, as Developing Countries Try to Keep Their Heads Above Water - An Interview with Cecilia Oh [includes discussion of patents/access to medicines issue] (Multinational Monitor, Dec. 2001)

Intellectual Property and the Knowledge Gap [regarding intellectual property rules affecting people's access to medicines, seeds and educational materials, and the ability of poor countries to develop and participate in global markets] (Oxfam policy paper, Dec. 2001)

High Commissioner for Human Rights calls HIV/AIDS one of greatest human rights challenges world faces [refers to the need to ensure equal access to medication and effective health services] (United Nations, 30 Nov. 2001)

State is defending the indefensible' [South Africa]: Health department justifies unequal access to Nevirapine by saying that some provinces lack the resources needed [regarding lawsuit to compel South African Government to make anti-AIDS drug Nevirapine more widely available] (Louise Cook, Business Day [South Africa], 28 Nov. 2001)

South African Miners March For Anti-AIDS Drugs: South African miners will be on the march this afternoon - to demand medicines for the treatment of HIV/AIDS. The marches show how HIV/AIDS has become a major industrial issue in South Africa, which has the world's highest known infection rates. (ICEM - the International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers' Unions, 28 Nov. 2001)

Hand out Aids drug says SA [South Africa] judge: The judge hearing an action brought by Aids campaigners against the South African Government has said he thinks an anti-HIV drug should be made available all over the country as soon as possible. (BBC News, 27 Nov. 2001)

• HIV/AIDS: South African Activists Take Government To Court On Drug Access [concerning policy on availability of the drug nevirapine, which helps prevent transmission of HIV from mother to child] (UN Wire, 26 Nov. 2001)

• ANC faces court fight over Aids drugs (Michael Dynes, The Times [London], 26 Nov. 2001)

• South Africa taken to court for HIV drug (Claire Keeton, Agence France-Presse, in Washington Times, 26 Nov. 2001)

• Bredell Consensus Statement on the Imperative to Expand Access to Anti-Retroviral (ART) Medicines for Adults and Children with HIV/AIDS in South Africa (Treatment Action Campaign, 19 Nov. 2001)

WTO Doha Conference a Setback for Labour and the Poor:...Dressed up in the language of a "development round" and rhetorical invocations of the commitment to poverty-alleviation is a significant victory for the proponents of corporate globalization...The accession of China must be seen as positive affirmation of the unlimited right of WTO member states to repress workers and elevate union busting to the level of national policy. (International Union of Food, Agricultural, Hotel, Restaurant, Catering, Tobacco and Allied Workers’ Associations [IUF], 21 Nov. 2001)

Bredell Consensus Statement on the Imperative to Expand Access to Anti-Retroviral (ART) Medicines for Adults and Children with HIV/AIDS in South Africa (Treatment Action Campaign, 19 Nov. 2001)

Globalisation and Corporate Social Responsibility: Growing challenges for the healthcare sector - In rich and poor countries affordable access to health and medicines is a high profile challenge placing unfamiliar demands on businesses...Changing public and institutional investor expectations of healthcare business behaviour are now a 'business risk' (Robert Davies, Chief Executive, Prince of Wales International Business Leaders Forum, 16 Nov. 2001)

Getting WTO's Attention Activists, Developing Nations Make Gains: Considering this was a meeting of the World Trade Organization, an institution often vilified as an agent of multinational corporate capitalism, some of the results evoked surprisingly joyful reactions among advocates for the world's oppressed. (Paul Blustein, Washington Post, 16 Nov. 2001)

East Africa: New agreement on access to drugs welcomed: The Ugandan government on Thursday welcomed a declaration by the World Trade Organisation (WTO) that should allow developing countries to use generic drugs in times of health crises, overriding the patents held by major pharmaceutical companies. (U.N. Integrated Regional Information Network, 16 Nov. 2001)

Cheaper AIDS drugs only half the solution, question is who gets them: IMF says scope for alleviating effect of disease through financial aid is limited - As the price of antiretroviral drugs falls, the question being asked increasingly is how affordable these treatments are for sub-Saharan public health services. The bottom line of a study the International Monetary Fund (IMF) released this week is that even if the cost of the drugs was substantially cut access to "highly active antiretroviral therapies" through public health systems is out of the question. Most of these are simply not up to providing the treatment. The study says that Botswana and SA are possible exceptions to this, but only to a limited extent. (Jonathan Katzenellenbogen, Business Day [South Africa], 16 Nov. 2001)

WTO: Agreement Reached In Doha; January Trade Round Set -...Even in light of the agreement allowing developing countries to break patents in the name of public health, the optimism of drug companies has not been dampened, the Wall Street Journal reports. "This does not change the way we sell our medicines," said Merck spokeswoman Gwen Fisher. "We do not believe that our intellectual property rights are in any way diminished," said Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America President Alan Holmer. "We're satisfied with the language" (UN Wire, 15 Nov. 2001)

TUBERCULOSIS: NGO Says TB Drug Market Could Reach $700M By 2010:...the Global TB Alliance "will capitalize on the research underway in a diverse group of public labs, biotech companies and pharmaceutical firms so that existing compounds move along the R&D [research and development] cycle quickly and deliver affordable drugs." Established a year ago, the nongovernmental organization aims to accelerate the development of new drugs and ensure universal access to improved treatment. (UN Wire, 15 Nov. 2001)

MSF reactions to Doha TRIPS agreement [on access to medicines] (Médecins Sans Frontières, 15 Nov. 2001)

Deal puts patients before the patents: Negotiators have defused the most inflammatory dispute between rich and poor nations that threatened to scuttle trade talks. They came to a tentative agreement to allow developing countries greater access to cut-price drugs to fight epidemics. The deal at the World Trade Organisation talks will assure developing countries that patent rules do not stand in the way of producing or importing generic drugs as they face health crises such as AIDS and malaria. But it ran into immediate protests from pharmaceutical company representatives, who said dilution of patent protections would discourage them from seeking cures for diseases that afflict developing nations. (Sydney Morning Herald [Australia], 14 Nov. 2001)

Green light to put public health first at WTO Ministerial Conference in Doha: A declaration on TRIPS and public health adopted today clearly recognized the potentially lethal side-effects of the TRIPS agreement and gave teeth to the measures that countries can use to counteract them. (joint statement by Médecins Sans Frontières, OXFAM, Third World Network, Consumer Project on Technology ,Consumers International, Health Action International and The Network, 14 Nov. 2001)

Victory on public health but few other gains for people in poverty - Oxfam is giving a four-out-of-ten score to the WTO deal struck today at Doha. There is a clear victory on public health, but Oxfam fears that developing countries can be bulldozed into agreeing a huge trade agenda which could exacerbate poverty and inequality. (Oxfam, 14 Nov. 2001)

Triumph for world trade talks:...Developing countries have the right to produce drugs cheaply in the case of a medical emergency...WTO members have accepted EU demands that investment, competition and environment rules be put on the agenda. (Steve Schifferes, BBC News, 14 Nov. 2001)

WTO agrees to launch new trade round: One of the Doha talks' biggest achievements was an agreement to shelter poor countries' access to medical supplies from the threat of legal challenge in the WTO. The deal partly resolves a bitter dispute fuelled by poor countries' complaints about difficulty in obtaining treatments for HIV/Aids and other diseases...One of the biggest stumbling blocks was France's refusal to accept wording in the draft agenda that called for "elimination" of farm subsidies. France dropped its opposition only when the EU succeeded, after all-night talks, in inserting a qualification and in obtaining a stronger WTO commitment to negotiate on trade and environment. (Guy de Jonquières, Financial Times, 14 Nov. 2001)

WTO to launch a new round of trade talks:...Mr. Clark [Ottawa trade consultant Peter Clark] said a deal reached early on in the WTO meeting that gave poor countries better access to drugs during health crises helped bridge divisions between industrialized and developing countries and increased chances of the round's successful launch. (Steven Chase, Globe and Mail [Canada], 14 Nov. 2001)

WTO Declaration on TRIPS and Health "the fight is not over": Under the leadership of the Africa Group, a bloc of more than 80 countries representing a majority of WTO Member States forced concessions from rich countries on the controversial issue of public health and drug company patent rights, despite fierce pressure from the U.S., E.U., Japan and Switzerland to divide the countries....But the declaration that emerged on public health and TRIPS from three days of negotiations was robbed of its full potential, activists say..."At the end of the day, opposition from rich countries crippled the legally binding language sought by the majority of WTO countries." (Health GAP Coalition, 13 Nov. 2001)

WTO relaxes rule on drug patents: Campaigners hope deal will cut cost of remedies for diseases which kill millions - Developing countries won a breakthrough deal on relaxing drug patents at the World Trade Organisation's Doha meeting yesterday. Campaigners hope it will bring down the cost of remedies for treating diseases killing millions of poor people every year...campaigners said the US had undermined its own position by itself threatening to override the patent on Cipro, the main anti-anthrax remedy last month, even though only four people have died of the disease. (Charlotte Denny, Guardian [UK], 13 Nov. 2001)

HIV/AIDS: UNAIDS Official Sees Global Progress, Calls For U.S. Change [interview of Pedro Chequer, UNAIDS Intercountry Program Adviser for the Southern Cone, a founder of Brazil's widely praised AIDS Program] - ...Merck did a very interesting job … dividing the world into three areas according to UNDP classification of poverty. (UN Wire, 13 Nov. 2001)

WTO confirms drugs deal: Trade negotiators at the world trade talks in Doha have reached broad agreement on a deal to ensure that poor countries have access to medicines...Ministers are expected to approve a text later on Tuesday relating to the World Trade Organisation's (WTO) intellectual property rights accord, known as TRIPS. The text will state that TRIPS "can and should be interpreted and implemented in a manner supportive of WTO members' rights to protect public health and in particular to ensure access to medicines for all". Senior US trade officials said that "great progress" had been made on the health issue, and the success demonstrated to developing countries that the WTO was "part of the solution, not part of the problem". But they argued the text was a political statement that did not have legal force. (Steve Schifferes, BBC News, 13 Nov. 2001)

Patent hypocrisy - Pharmaceuticals: Last year, 2.4 million people in sub-Saharan Africa died of AIDS. Millions more were seriously ill. Anti-viral drugs widely available in Western nations could have eased that suffering and extended many lives. But poor Africans dying slowly of AIDS could not afford them. When their governments sought generic versions, they were blocked by large pharmaceutical companies and the U.S. government. Late last month, fewer than a dozen Americans had been diagnosed with anthrax. Just four had died. Yet the abstract principles that kept life-saving drugs from dying Africans went out the window. (editorial, St. Louis Post-Dispatch [USA], 12 Nov. 2001)

Aids: The disease ten times as deadly as war (Sarah Boseley, Guardian [UK], 8 July 2000)

TROPICAL DISEASES: New Research Center Planned For Singapore - A research center, the Novartis Institute for Tropical Diseases, is planned for Singapore next year with a focus on such tropical diseases as tuberculosis and dengue fever. The center is expected to receive $220 million in funding from Swiss pharmaceutical company Novartis and the Singapore Economic Development Board, the Straits Times reported last week...The center will focus particularly on diseases affecting people in developing countries, the company said..."We want to make an effort to contribute to a research area which is promising in terms of scientific and research opportunities, but would not happen if someone only cared about short-term economic growth." (UN Wire, 12 Nov. 2001)

• New centre targets TB, dengue fever - Tropical disease research to be focus of $220m centre being set up next year (Chang Ai-Lien, Straits Times [Singapore], 9 Nov. 2001)

At trade talks, generic-drug issue key:...Accused of hypocrisy by AIDS groups and developing nations, the US is now backing off on its hard-line stance on drug patents, offering new hope for AIDS-ravaged countries such as South Africa. (Nicole Itano, Christian Science Monitor, 9 Nov. 2001)

War Profiteering: Bayer, Anthrax and International Trade - This article, which lays out the issues surrounding drug patents, WTO rules and public health, was written before the recent WTO meeting in Doha, Qatar...We believe this piece is still timely because it gives context to the fierce fight over drug patenting in the WTO and the implications for both developed and developing countries. (Kavaljit Singh, Asia-Europe Dialogue Project, on CorpWatch website, 5 Nov. 2001)

HIV/AIDS: ASEAN Adopts Program To Fight Spread Of Disease -...ASEAN Secretary General Rudolfo Severino said the association will now seek to negotiate with drug companies to purchase essential drugs at discount prices. (UN Wire, 5 Nov. 2001)

HIV/AIDS: Drug Access Alone Insufficient To Curb Pandemic, Panel Says - An international panel of more than 80 medical researchers and public health officials concluded this week that making anti-AIDS drugs available to developing countries at affordable prices will not be enough to curb the worldwide AIDS pandemic unless funding for AIDS prevention programs and improved national health services is also provided. (UN Wire, 1 Nov. 2001)

• U.N. is warned on anti-AIDS strategy: Drugs alone might fail poor nations, panel says - Making anti-viral drugs available to developing countries at reasonable prices won't be enough to curb the global AIDS epidemic, according to an international panel that will advise the United Nations how to spend a $1.5 billion global AIDS fund. (Frank D. Roylance, Baltimore Sun, 1 Nov. 2001)

The Cipro Rip-Off: The prospect of bioterrorism on a massive scale has painted the Bush administration into a corner, as it tried to address demands for price reductions on the anti-anthrax drug Cipro while maintaining an anti-generics position in international trade negotiations. (Multinational Monitor, Nov. 2001)