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Brazil Voids Merck Patent On AIDS Drug

Posted by kdawson on from the developing-world-revolt dept.

JoeBackward writes "Merck has this useful anti-AIDS drug Elfavirenz, and Brazil has lots of poor people with AIDS. So, after trying really hard to get Merck to cooperate on pricing, the Brazilian government has decided to take a 'compulsory license' to the patent, and get the drug from a factory in India. This compulsory license is basically a way to take the patent by eminent domain." This move gives Brazil one more thing in common with Thailand, both of which have blocked YouTube. Thailand's compulsory licensing of Elfavirenz and Plavix has landed the country on the US's watch list for piracy.

3 of 765 comments (clear)

  1. Re:youtube by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

    as a matter of fact, brazil stopped blocking youtube three days after the ban was actually set. And not all ISPs complied with the ruling, only one, Brasil Telecom, which is responsible for broadbrand in all southern states.

  2. Re:humanity vs capitalism by saforrest · · Score: 5, Informative

    You have to physically perform an action which every semi-intelligent person knows carries the risk of AIDS (unprotected sex, sex with a stranger, sharing needles, etc) to get AIDS.

    Oh goody, the moralistic argument.

    First, it needn't surprise you that there are all kinds of ways one person can compel another to engage in sexual intercourse. And I'm not just talking about rape and prostitution either.

    Second, there are all kinds of ways one person can come into contact with another's blood. In a country with a sufficiently high HIV prevalence, any car accident, mugging, or fistfight might result in infection. And while the First World now has pretty good testing regimes for blood transfusions, are you sure that's the case everywhere?

    If you think every fistfight is voluntary: on CBC radio a couple of weeks ago, they had an example (from Tanzania I believe) where a guy had gotten beat up while defending his elderly neighbour's house from burglars, and contracted HIV in the process.

    So cut the moralizing "they all made their choices" crap.

  3. Merck's spending breakdown by compumike · · Score: 5, Informative
    From their latest annual report, for fiscal year 2006: (all numbers in millions of dollars)
    • Sales revenue: 22,636.0
    So where does the money go?
    • Manufacturing costs: 6,001.1
    • Marketing & adminstrative costs: 8,165.4
    • R&D: 4,782.9
    Only 20% of the price of each pill goes toward future research and development... Marketing & administrative costs are double that. Ouch.