The generic version of Plavix, the heart disease medicine of Sanofi-Aventis will be made indigenously in Thailand. This was announced by the pharma company on Tuesday.
As per the offer made by Sanofa-Aventis, the health ministry has approved plans to buy or make imitated version of the drug. The statement released by the drug firm states that indigenous making of the heart drug will benefit the poorer Thai patients. According to a health official the company had offered a special quota of 3.4 million Plavix tablets for 34,000 patients.The drug industry was shocked last November by the action of Thailand government when it decided to supersede the patent on Efavirenz, a drug for HIV from Merck & Co. Later licenses were issued for Plavix and Kaletra, an AIDS drug from the US pharma giant Abbott Laboratories. But Abbott reacted sharply to this by refusing to launch new drugs in Thailand which was not welcomed by AIDS activists all over the world.
Drug companies do not approve such moves as they are investing a lot of money in research and development and in the formulation of a new drug. Fabrice Baschiera, general manager of Sanofi-Aventis in Thailand said, "The best way to find solutions to difficult health care challenges is to reject confrontation and engage in constructive dialogue with a view to increasing private and public sector partnership."
On the other hand, World Trade Organization permits governments to issue compulsory licenses and allows others to make a patented medicine without the approval of a foreign patent owner. But according to Thailand government essential medicines are too expensive for the country’s health care program.
Source-Medindia
JYT
