'Double standards' on Aids and anthrax
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South Africa is criticising the United States for apparent hypocrisy
surrounding the current terrorist scare about anthrax.
The treatment for anthrax is the antibiotic ciprofloxacin. The patent
holder, Bayer AG, sells this under the brand name Cipro for US $1.77 per
tablet. But the US have already forced Bayer AG to sell 100 million tablets
of Cipro for $0.95 instead of the regular price and are threatening to
buy a cheaper generic version of the drug in order to force a further
price reduction.
But the US is among the countries opposing moves by more than 60 developing
nations to lift patent rights during national health emergencies - such
as Aids.
Several hundred Aids activists protested in Washington DC, accusing US
trade officials of "double standards".
Nathan Geffen of South Africa's Treatment Action Campaign commented: "The
developing world is faced with a problem threatening the lives of over
40 million people, yet the US government have gone to extraordinary efforts
to block compulsory licenses in countries like Brazil and South Africa."
S.
Predrag, Johannesburg
