TRIPS: The Story of How Intellectual Property Became Linked to Trade, Part 6

This is the sixth part of a seven-part series with Peter Drahos, a Professor in the RegNet School of Regulation and Global Governance at the Australian National University. He holds a Chair in Intellectual Property at Queen Mary, University of London and is a member of the Academy of Social Sciences in Australia. In 2004 he and his co-author Professor John Braithwaite won the Grawemeyer Award in Ideas Improving World Order for their book Global Business Regulation. Prof. Drahos is interviewed by Lynn Fries, producer at The Real News Network. Find the whole series here.

Full text below the break.

Read the rest of this entry »

TRIPS: The Story of How Intellectual Property Became Linked to Trade, Part 2

This is the second part of a seven-part series with Peter Drahos, a Professor in the RegNet School of Regulation and Global Governance at the Australian National University. He holds a Chair in Intellectual Property at Queen Mary, University of London and is a member of the Academy of Social Sciences in Australia. In 2004 he and his co-author Professor John Braithwaite won the Grawemeyer Award in Ideas Improving World Order for their book Global Business Regulation. Prof. Drahos is interviewed by Lynn Fries, producer at The Real News Network. Find the whole series here.

Full text below the break.

Read the rest of this entry »

New Hepatitis Cure Far Too Costly

Martin Khor

A controversy is brewing over a new cure for hepatitis C because it is extremely expensive and patients in middle-income countries like Malaysia will find it way beyond their budget.

There are an estimated 400,000 Malaysians with hepatitis C, but this is probably a significant under-estimate since many people are not aware that they have the virus.

Worldwide, 170 million people live with the hepatitis C virus (HCV), and every year three to four million more are infected, and there are around 350,000 deaths.

Hepatitis C is thus a major public health problem and called a “silent killer” because it can lead to serious liver ailments including cancer for those who are infected.

The good news is that a new drug, sofosbuvir, was approved last year by the American health authorities.

The medicine has an effective rate of around 90%, making it superior to the older medicines which have a lower success rate and some serious side effects.

The bad news is that the producer, the US firm Gilead, put a very high price tag of US$84,000 (RM274,428) for a 12-week course.

Each pill thus costs US$1,000 (RM3,267).

Read the rest of this entry »

A Matter of Life and Death

Martin Khor

Originally published in The Star (Malaysia).

If you or some family members or friends suffer from cancer, hepatitis, AIDS, asthma or other serious ailments, it’s worth your while to follow the Trans Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA) negotiations, now going on in Singapore.

It’s really a matter of life and death. For the TPPA can cut off the potential supply of cheaper generic life-saving medicines, especially when the branded products are priced so sky-high that very few can afford them.

Read the rest of this entry »