11 August 2006

Never-ending AIDS patent wars

Charles Goldfinger

Unlike old generals, drug-patent wars not only do not die but do not even fade away.

As reported by Reuters and other major media, on Monday, August 7, hundreds of Thais living with HIV/AIDS demonstrated in front of the Bangkok offices of drug maker GlaxoSmithKline to protest a patent application for its key anti-retroviral drug, Combid. If granted, demonstrators and their supporters claimed, the patent would block production and sales of a generic version of Combid (called Zilarvir) produced by Thailand's state drug company, Government Pharmaceutical Organization (GPO), and distributed to some 80,000 people under a programme expanded last...

This page requires a subscription

This page is available to subscribers only. Please log in or subscribe and plug into the Science|Buisiness Network now, to get full access to all our news, events, business opportunities and subscriber-posting service.

We are the first independent news service connecting buyers and sellers of emerging technologies, across borders and across industries. We keep you ahead of the news on early-stage R&D investment – and provide opportunities for you to find and meet new investors, licensees and development partners, through our unique Science|Business Network of leading scientific institutions including the University of Cambridge, Karolinska Institute, ETH-Zürich and Imperial College London.

Be first into the next wave of technology. Click here to learn more

Note: Log in requires cookies to be enabled on your machine.

Lost your password? Enter your email address with no password and we'll send you a new password. Use this to log in, then, if you wish, click on the 'My Details' link at the top of the page to change your password.