MP 'ecstatic' after vote revives AIDS drugs shipments to Africa
December 3, 2009
Joanna Smith
OTTAWA BUREAU
OTTAWA–A five-year-old program to send affordable life-saving drugs to developing nations will get another chance after a majority of MPs voted in favour of a private member's bill supporters believe will finally make the process work.
"I'm just ecstatic," NDP MP Judy Wasylycia-Leis (Winnipeg North) said after her bill to amend patent law passed second reading with 143 votes in favour to 127 against. "It's another all-party effort to try and improve a system that is not working but is well intentioned."
The former Liberal government under Paul Martin established Canada's Access to Medicines Regime in 2004 with much international fanfare. The goal was to make it easier for generic drug companies to send affordable medication to Africa to combat HIV/AIDS and other life-threatening diseases. But after five years and only one example of generic drugs getting to Africa, the legislation is considered defunct.
The current legislation requires generic drug companies negotiate approval for every medication order from purchasing countries with the pharmaceutical giants that hold the patents, a process generic manufacturers say is too cumbersome.
Rwanda is the only country that has used the legislation to buy anti-AIDS drugs from Canada, and generic firm Apotex Inc., which supplied the medication, said the legislation was so onerous it would not use it again unless changes were made.
Parliamentarians were lobbied heavily by both non-governmental organizations in favour of the bill and pharmaceutical companies concerned about intellectual copyright, but in the end a majority of MPs – including a handful of Conservatives – decided to send the bill to the Commons industry committee for further study.
Toronto Star
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