Author (Person) | Bower, Helen | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Publisher | ProQuest Information and Learning | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Series Title | In Focus | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Series Details | 27.5.03 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Publication Date | 27/05/2003 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Content Type | News, Overview, Topic Guide | In Focus | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Government ministers from the EU's Member States agreed on 26 May 2003 to a plan that will enable drugs used in the fight against HIV/Aids, malaria and tuberculosis to be sold more cheaply in over 70 developing countries. Although there are already a number of schemes in place to encourage pharmaceutical companies to sell their drugs more cheaply in the developing world, these have not enjoyed much success because of fears that the drugs would be sold back into Europe at cut-price, undermining lucrative markets. As the European Commissioner for Trade, Pascal Lamy, explained: drugs sold for €500 will be bought in Africa for €100 and someone will try to re-sell them in Europe for €490. The EU's new legislation seeks to address this problem by establishing a system whereby pharmaceutical companies may choose to put their products on a tiered-price list run by the European Commission. All products on the list shall bear a logo allowing customs officials to easily identify them and under the new law, imports of these products into the EU for free circulation, re-exportation, warehousing or trans-shipment will be prohibited. To be eligible to be added to the list, medicines will have to be sold at either the cost of production plus 15% or at a price reduction of 75% off the average 'ex factory' price in OECD countries. Pascal Lamy, welcomed the Council's agreement, saying:
However neither development NGOs nor the pharmaceutical industry itself reacted as enthusiastically to the agreement. Whilst the development NGOs welcomed the agreement as a significant step forward they criticised the EU for reducing the discount requirement from 80% to 75%, following pressure from the French government, in particular, who sought to lower the requirement to 70%. Commenting on the move, Ellen't Hoen of Médecins Sans Frontières, said:
The EU's pharmaceutical industry also criticised the European Commission, claiming that they were not consulted over the proposal which was only discussed with the Anglo-American pharmaceuticals giant GlaxoSmithKline. The European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations (EFPIA) have repeatedly stated that they back increasing access to medicines, however they have suggested that the new system is too rigid and will not encourage companies to increase their exports to developing countries. The agreement is viewed as a key building block in the EU's 2001-2006 action programme aimed at addressing the global emergency caused by HIV/Aids, tuberculosis and malaria. The European Commission hopes that if the new system is successful then other medicines targeted at different diseases will be added to the list and the number of countries involved in the scheme will be increased.
Helen Bower Compiled: Tuesday, 27 May 2003 The EU's Member States agreed on 26 May 2003 to new legislation that will enable drugs used in the fight against certain diseases to be sold more cheaply in over 70 developing countries. |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Subject Categories | Business and Industry, Politics and International Relations |