Religious beliefs have hindered the fight against HIV/Aids in the southern region, according to a recent study. The study says beliefs against condom use and little sex education make Muslim women and teenagers in this region a highly vulnerable group. The stigma of being an Aids victim is a barrier in itself as it dis
Blindness in HIV/Aids patients in Thailand , Burma and Cambodia is linked to a failure to diagnose and treat cytomegalovirus retinitis ( CMV ), according to a recent study published in the journal PLoS Medicine
By keeping the traditional way of doing business that denies access to medicines to millions of poor people in developing countries, the pharmaceutical industry is undermining its own future, Oxfam says in its report. The report, Investing for Life , looks at the world s top 12 pharmaceutical companies, including their
Young people are having sex younger but fewer than half use condoms, according to a report by the Public Health Ministry. The ministry surveyed the sexual behaviour of youths last year and found fewer than half who admitted they had casual sex said they used condoms. The average age of youths who had sex for the first
From today till Saturday, leaders in the fields of pediatrics, immunology and general medicine are gathering in Bangkok for the 5th World Congress of the World Society for Pediatric Infectious Diseases (WSPID), to explore how scientific innovation can improve the lives of people across the globe. Here, some of the worl
The Government Pharmaceutical Organisation s (GPO) labour union and consumer rights groups will rally at the Public Health Ministry today to protest against the government s planned abolition of the state drug firm s right to stockpile necessary drugs for public use. The demonstration is backed by local and internation
American International Assurance, a subsidiary of global insurance giant AIG, must come forward and clearly explain its policies towards homosexuals. So far, executives have walked a fine line between claiming that the company does not discriminate against homosexuals while saying that a person s lifestyle could affect
Gay activists have launched a protest against American International Assurance for unfair discrimination based on sexual preference. AIA executives said the company had no explicit policies against homosexual clients, but reserved the right to consider applications based on risk factors related to personal lifestyle .
The Food and Drug Administration has approved the registration of the second-line Aids drug lopinavir / ritonavir for use under the compulsory licensing policy. FDA secretary general Siriwat Thiptaradol yesterday said the drug has passed the registration process wh
Metabolic abnormalities caused by side effects from antiretroviral drugs are becoming increasingly prevalent among Thais living with HIV/Aids, recent studies have found. According to a pilot study by Ramathibodi Hospital s Faculty of Medicine, published in the Journal of the Medical Association Thailand
The Public Health Ministry s controversial Yued Ok Pok Thung TV ad campaign aimed at promoting condom use among teenagers will be halted after Oct 12 due to budget problems. We don t have the budget to continue the commercials on television. However, we will promote the condom campaign through other activities instead,
The National Health Security Office will ask the Public Health Ministry to consider overriding the patents of four cancer drugs to help patients under the universal health care scheme. A panel chaired by secretary-general Sa-nguan Nittayarumphong will recommend the ministry approach the two drug companies concerned wit
Sex education and women s rights advocates have called for the public to be more open-minded about young people carrying condoms as it is an effective means to protect themselves and society. The group defended the health ministry s controversial TV campaign spots Yued Ok Pok Thung (Proud to carry condoms) as being wel
We thank the Bangkok Post for its interest in the Phase III HIV vaccine study being performed in Rayong and Chon Buri provinces. However, we wish to clarify several of the statements in the article Final Phase of Aids vaccine trial extended (July 31, 2007) for your readers. The article states: The final phase of an Aid
Giant drug firm Sanofi-Aventis has threatened to take legal action against an India-based drug manufacturer if it supplies copycat versions of its patented heart drug Plavix to Thailand . The move, exposed yesterday by Vichai Chokevivat, chairman of the Government Pharmaceutical Organisation (GPO) board, is seen as the
As an HIV-positive widow in Cambodia , Srim Phan had no hope. That was until she was encouraged to form a group, take a loan from a micro-credit scheme and start a sewing factory. Her life has since changed for the better, she said. The scheme is modelled on a critically acclaimed programme known as the Positive Partne
The Public Health Ministry has cancelled its plan to issue a compulsory licence (CL) for the production of a leukaemia drug after the Switzerland-based manufacturer promised to donate the drug to meet the demands of all Thai patients. However, it will not go back on compulsory licensing on other drugs, despite pressure
Theerawut Sathitphattarakul, Bangkok And Apiradee Treerutkuarkul, Colombo
The Public Health Ministry has decided to import a generic version of the heart drug Plavix from India under compulsory licensing, a policy praised by a United Nations agency and health advocacy groups as an example for other countries to follow. The first shipment of two million tablets of clopidogrel is expected in t
Sri Lanka - International Aids campaigners have raised concern over a sharp increase in infections among Thai housewives, fearing the rise of new cases in this formerly low-risk group reflected the country s complacency in tackling the epidemic. Deborah Landey, deputy executive director of the Joint United Nation
The US ambassador to Thailand has asked Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont to intervene in the Public Health Ministry s compulsory licensing policy. Ralph Boyce said in his letter dated July 20 he was afraid that the faded compulsory licensing issue might re-emerge since the Health Ministry was actively considering a lis
A health expert has warned of the dangers of counterfeit erectile dysfunction and malaria drugs that have flooded local markets and neighbouring countries. Praphon Angtrakul, a pharmacist at the Food and Drug Administration, said the fake drugs were undermining Thailand s efforts to promote good manufacturing practices
The final phase of an Aids vaccine trial in Thailand will be extended for another two years as researchers are not certain if the vaccine is actually effective. Chief researcher Supachai Rerksngarm said his team needed to extend the research until 2009 before concluding whether the vaccine was effective and could be pr
Ignorance is the major factor behind the shocking treatment of those known to have tested positive for HIV/Aids. Twenty years after the outbreak of Aids in humans panicked the world, and 10 years after experts confidently predicted a vaccine, science has produced neither an immunization nor a cure. There have been impo
Kittaya Jantarataneevivat, 16, giggled as she grabbed a condom from a volunteer distributor while strolling in front of a department store in the Ratchaprasong area yesterday. The girl, a student of Surasak Montri School, was among many young people, both boys and girls, who received free condoms in a campaign to promo
Thailand is pressing ahead with its policy on compulsory licensing (CL) with a plan to expand the policy to cover all state healthcare programmes, enabling more people to access affordable life-saving drugs. The plan, initiated by scholar-economist Ammar Siamwalla, was endorsed by the National Health Security Office
Thailand is sticking by its stance to override the patent of Abbott Laboratories Aids drug Kaletra although Brazil has already agreed to buy the life-saving drug from the pharma giant. Health specialist Vichai Chokewiwat yesterday said the government would not accept Abbot
The rising number of housewives contracting HIV/Aids from their husbands is a matter for serious concern, Public Health Minister Mongkol Na Songkhla said at a recent seminar. Aids activists are calling for a revival of campaigns promoting condom use to curb the growing infection rate. Speaking during the 11th national
Thailand is one of a small number of countries in the Asia-Pacific that is moving ahead to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), Shigeru Muchida, deputy executive secretary of the UN Economic and Social Commission in Asia and the Pacific (Escap). Thailand has been found to have fared outstandingly well in
The Public Health Ministry is stepping up its campaign for HIV-infected women to continue taking anti-viral drugs after giving birth. It is the second stage of a five-year plan, lasting from 2004 to 2008, to provide care, protection and treatment for women during pregnancy and after giving birth, new-born babies and in
Some members of the US House of Representatives have demanded the US Trade Representative (USTR) remove Thailand from the Special 310 Priority Watch List (PWL) and respect its right to issue compulsory licences for drugs. Republican representative from California Henry Waxman, in a letter on Wednesday signed by 34 cong
A leading health activist has urged developing nations to consider using tax revenues to support research and development on essential drugs for the public, as an option for expanding access to medicine and avoiding patent disputes. Jon Ungpakorn proposed the idea during a seminar on compulsory licensing at Thammasat U
Tak - A total of 12,784 malaria patients were admitted to hospitals in Tak in the first four months of the year - more than any other province. Provincial health official Patchuban Hemhongsa said the admission figures are from hospitals in five districts, Jan 1 to the end of April. About three-quarters of the patients,
While the Public Health Ministry has been trying to provide cheap Aids drugs for patients, a group of migrant workers has been left to fight the fatal disease alone. Even the number of migrants and itinerant workers infected with HIV/Aids living in the Greater Mekong Sub-region is unknown. Aware of the risk of HIV/Aids
A meeting to negotiate drug prices between the Food and Drug Administration ( FDA ) and two pharmaceutical firms remained deadlocked yesterday as the Public Health Ministry confirmed that it would go ahead with its plan for compulsory licensing. Abbott Laboratories and Sanofi Aventis stood by their previous price l
The Public Health Ministry yesterday accepted for consideration American pharmaceutical giant Merck & Co s offer of free anti-Aids medication, in the form of a syrup, to treat 2,500 Thai HIV-positive children. The firm s proposal was seen as another bid by the company to convince the ministry not to put the firm s
The Public Health Ministry is considering issuing compulsory licences for two more generic versions of expensive medicines, Public Health Minister Mongkol Na Songkhla said yesterday. The move, however, would only be made after July 1, when the status of Thai exports on the US Generalised System of Preferences (GSP) lis
The government is considering revoking the compulsory licence issued for a generic version of the HIV/Aids medicine Efavirenz after a promising start to informal talks with patent holder Merck & Co Inc in the United States yesterday. Public Health Minister Mongkol na Songkhla said Merck representatives prop
Nakhon Pathom - This year s welcoming activities for new pharmacy students were not all about recreation and freak-out festivities. The controversy over compulsory licensing and the problem of drug access were the theme, as about 1,000 pharmacy students, both freshmen and seniors, from 14 universities, took part in the
The government s attempt to mend fences with the United States over the compulsory licensing of Aids and heart drugs has been fruitless. Washington has refused support for the policy, which Bangkok insists does not violate World Trade Organisation (WTO) rules. In conclusion, the trip has ended up being fruitless, Publ
A Republican congressman in the United States has called on President George W. Bush to suspend Thailand s status as a major non-Nato ally pending proof of the restoration of democracy in the kingdom. Mark Kirk submitted a bill to this effect amid sustained lobbying in the US against Thailand s overriding of patents fo
Thailand s issuing of compulsory licences to bypass patents on Aids and heart drugs has rattled the multi-billion dollar pharmaceuticals business. The country has been closely watched, particularly by American firms holding patents, and by the US administration. US ambassador to Thailand Ralph Boyce reflected on the is
Public Health Minister Mongkol Na Songkhla will promote safe sex worldwide when he chairs the board of UNAids next month. Dr Mongkol said his new role in UNAids, the world s anti-Aids policy body, would be a good opportunity for Thailand to help promote 100% condom use worldwide. Dr Mongkol, who was recently picked
Buoyed by global support for its bid to improve access to cheap medicines, the Public Health Ministry is now eyeing cancer drugs as its next target. Public Health Minister Mongkol Na Songkhla yesterday unveiled a plan to enforce compulsory licensing for cancer drugs next. It s essential, as cancer ranks among the top f
Abbott Laboratories , one of the three pharmaceutical giants whose drugs face compulsory licensing in Thailand , has backed off from its threats, saying it wants to continue selling its HIV/Aids drugs here. Previously, the firm planned to withhold sale of a heat-stable form of Aluvia, its HIV/Aids drug, as punishment
Health activists have accused the American lobby group USA for Innovation of doing everything in its power to mislead the public about Thailand s efforts to expand access to medicines by overriding drug patents. They are trying to do everything they can, even buying the media to protect the benefits of pharmaceutical c
Celia W. Dugger, NYT News Service and Apiradee Treerutkuarkul, Bangkok Post
New York - Former US president Bill Clinton yesterday gave his backing to Thailand and Brazil s recent moves to break Aids drugs patents held by US pharmaceutical companies to reduce the cost of treating the disease. Mr Clinton also announced that his foundation had negotiated steep price reductions for generic version
As Public Health Minister Mongkol Na Songkhla meets with various lawmakers, activists and executives during his trip to the US this week, it s crucial that a serious, honest discussion begins to take shape. Developing countries need to know when and how they can issue compulsory licences under the World Trade Organisat
The government is finding support in unusual quarters for its decision to issue compulsory licences for patented drugs, which threatens to have repercussions on bilateral trade with the US. The Campaign for Popular Democracy (CPD), which has criticised the government for its performance, announced yesterday that it bac
-- Yongyuth to attend US meeting this week Science and Technology Minister Yongyuth Yuthavong has made preparations to explain Thailand s position on compulsory licensing policies to US pharmaceutical firms during his visit to the United States this week. The minister said the country needed to explain the issue after
Renowned for his outspokenness and quick decision-making, and for the controversial issues he has taken up, Public Health Minister Mongkol na Songkhla is one of the highest-profile ministers in the interim government. As soon as he was appointed to the position last October, he revoked the 30-baht medical fee for the 4
Activists protest outside the US embassy against the US Trade Representative s decision to put Thailand on a priority watch list of countries closely monitored for their protection of intellectual property rights, in response to the government s enforcement of compulsory licensing of imported medicines. Prime Minis
In a move that hopefully will instigate all developing countries to step up their rightful fight for access to affordable medicine, the Thai government s bold decision to bypass patent laws on three drugs for the treatment of Aids and heart ailments is, however, coming under increasing pressure from domestic as well as
The US administration has downgraded Thailand to a country with poor intellectual property protection in a move ridiculed by Thai advocates of cheap drugs. The US Trade Representative Office (USTR) on Monday placed Thailand and 11 other countries, including China , India
Thai health activists yesterday denounced American organisation USA for Innovation for running an advertisement condemning the government s decision to override the patents on American medical innovations. Nimit Tienudom, chairman of the Aids Access Network, questioned the organisation s motive, saying that the move wa
Around 100 health activists rallied at the Commerce Ministry yesterday to press it to decide whether the move by Abbott Laboratories to withdraw the planned introduction of new drugs into the country violates the law. The rally was also part of a worldwide protest against the US drug giant s stance after the government
The latest offer by Abbott Laboratories to register second-line Aids drug Aluvia in Thailand if the government drops its compulsory licence is a step in the right direction. But the government should reject any offer that calls for dropping the compulsory licence, which is a right guaranteed in the World Trade Organisa
A generic drug maker in India is offering Thailand a cheaper version of the Aids drug Aluvia after Abbott Laboratories , the patent holder, offered to sell the anti-retroviral drug at a reduced price. Vichai Chokewiwat, chairman of the Public Health Ministry s panel on compulsory licencing, yesterday said
US ambassador Ralph Boyce has urged Thailand to negotiate with US pharmaceutical companies for a reduction in the price of patented drugs, rather than acquiring cheap generic versions through compulsory licensing. Mr Boyce made the call during a one-hour meeting with Public Health Minister Dr Mongkol na Songkhla and ot
Thailand wants to import a generic version of the anti-Aids drug Aluvia, in tablet form, from makers in India . The move comes after the patent holder, Abbott, withdrew its introduction of the medicine to the country after the government announced compulsory licensing. A source said the Public Health Ministry was
Pharmaceutical firms will be required to declare the cost of each new drug listed for introduction in the country in a bid to protect consumer rights, Food and Drug Administration ( FDA ) secretary-general Siriwat Thiptaradol said. The declaration of production costs will be stipulated in a new drugs bill now being scr
US-based drug maker Abbott Laboratories has agreed to lower the price of its Aids drug Kaletra from 5,938 baht per patient per month to 3,488.20 baht. Siriwat Tiptaradol, the Food and Drug Administration s ( FDA ) secretary-general, said the new price could make Kaletra cheaper t
Abbott Ltd, patent holder of the HIV/Aids treatment Kaletra , has turned down an invitation by the Food and Drug Administration ( FDA ) for a meeting to discuss compensation for the drug listed for compulsory licensing. The rejection of the invitation is being seen by many as the company s attempt to show its disa
Wat Phra Bart Nam Phu temple, which cares for abandoned Aids patients, has turned down an offer of cash donations to be raised from an Aids charity edition of Fame magazine containing nude pictures of male and female celebrities, models and actors. The temple abbot, Phra Udom Prachathorn, widely-known as Phra Archan Al
The government has failed to reach an agreement with patent holders of HIV/Aids and heart drugs listed for compulsory licensing. Royalty payments are being offered to the pharmaceutical companies whose patents will be breached when generic versions are produced locally or imported. Food and Drug Administration secretar
The decision by US-based Abbott Laboratories to withhold new medicines from Thailand certainly strikes at the heart of the government s efforts to secure life-saving medicine for all Thais. But the Ministry of Public Health must stand firm. Backing down now would send the wrong message to other pharmaceutical manufactu
Health advocacy groups yesterday urged two leading international organisations to take further steps in supporting developing countries in their efforts to win access to unaffordable medicines via compulsory licensing. We re wondering what the WHO [World Health Organisation] is doing apart from sending a letter to init
Activist doctors, consumer rights and Aids groups have called for a boycott of medicines and other products of US drug giant Abbott Laboratories after the firm withdrew the registration of seven new drugs in Thailand . They said the action by the drug firm, which produces the anti-Aids drug,
The death of a 15-year-old Lao girl from bird flu at the Nong Khai provincial hospital last week marked a tragic and unwanted first for her country. She apparently contracted the H5N1 virus from infected poultry in a suburb of Vientiane in January. Despite their lack of experience, the Lao authorities lost no time in s
-- Jarun: Crosses the line between profit, morals A top justice official yesterday denounced a US drug maker s withholding of new medicines from Thailand , saying it overstepped the line between business profits and morality. The drug industry is an obvious profit-oriented business. But its present business protection
In all too many places, women face inequality with men, but in one area they are fast approaching equality where no one wants it. Worldwide, the number of women living with HIV is almost equal to the number of men. Every day 7,000 women around the world become infected and the number is on the rise. More than 17.5 mill
-- To guarantee public access to affordable drugs, it is suggested that the compulsory licensing clause be incorporated in the new constitution Thailand s daring step in enacting compulsory licensing for three patented Aids and heart disease medications - Efavirenz ,
The managing director of the Government Pharmaceutical Organisation has been sacked by the cabinet following a personal row with the board chairman and what he said yesterday was unfair pressure to speed up the upgrading of a pharmaceutical manufacturing plant and the breaking of international drug patents. Mongkol Jiv
French football legend Zinedine Zidane yesterday wowed more than 5,000 people who packed Chiang Mai municipal stadium to watch the three-time Fifa World Player of the Year play in a charity football match. The former France playmaker had come for a holiday with his family and to play in the match, which was held to rai
The Intellectual Property Department yesterday denied it had sought a ruling on the Public Health Ministry s decision to enforce compulsory licensing on drugs. Department chief Puangrat Asavapisit told Aids activists led by the Aids Access Foundation, Doctors without Borders and non-government organisations that the ag
Teenagers having unprotected sex should be concerned not only with unwanted pregnancies but also a list of dangerous sexually transmitted diseases, including ones that can lead to cervical cancer, a leading paediatrician has warned. The doctor said there were a number of reasons why teenage girls should say no to their
Thailand is pushing ahead with its plan to give the public better access to more medicines under the patents of pharmaceutical giants. Public Health Minister Mongkol na Songkhla yesterday said experts from the ministry and the National Health Security Office were studying the pros and cons of adopting compulsory lice
The Public Health Ministry should issue a white paper to expose the truth about overpriced medicines and the reason for its decision to break drug patents, says the National Legislative Assembly s committee on public health. Committee chairman Preeya Kasemsant na Ayudhya yesterday met executives from the ministry to mo
The pharmaceutical company which holds the patent for the Aids therapy drug cocktail Kaletra , Abbott Laboratories , has agreed in principle to cut the price. It follows the government s decision to approve a compulsory licence for the importation or production of a cheaper, generic version of two medicines -
A Bangkok Post editorial last week ( The bottom line is people s health , Jan 31) rightly pointed out that in granting compulsory licences for the anti-Aids drug Kaletra and the heart medication Plavix on Jan 29, as well as earlier for Efavirenz , another HIV medicatio
Thailand can go ahead with the compulsory licensing of anti-Aids and heart disease drugs without having to negotiate with pharmaceutical firms as suggested by the World Health Organisation (WHO), international health policy and intellectual properties rights experts said yesterday. The country s decision to break the
Any mention of copyright violations usually brings to mind pirated DVDs, software, music and the challenges posed to legitimate, paying users by error-prone and frustrating digital rights management programs designed to combat such infringements. It can all sound relatively harmless and create the misconception among s
The World Health Organisation yesterday cautioned Thailand over its move to adopt compulsory licensing for producing generic versions of heart disease and anti-Aids drugs. I d like to underline that we have to find a right balance for compulsory licensing. We can t be naive about this. There is no perfect solution for
In issuing compulsory licences for the heart drug Plavix and anti-Aids drug Kaletra , the Public Health Ministry is taking a bold step to ensure Thailand takes full advantage of the World Trade Organisation s agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS), signed by the US and all ot
Public Health Minister Mongkol na Songkhla yesterday shrugged off pharmaceutical giants threats to freeze investment in Thailand in protest at his decision to allow generic, inexpensive versions of heart disease and Aids drugs. Most of these costly drugs are produced somewhere else, not in Thailand. Nobody knows if the
Ubon Ratchathani - The provincial public health office in Ubon Ratchathani has launched a project to curb sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) and Aids along the Thai-Lao border. The project is primarily aimed at helping local women working in karaoke bars, who sometimes become involved in prostitution. Provincial publ
Health promotion groups have lauded the Public Health Ministry for its politically courageous move to push for cheaper versions of patented drugs for HIV/Aids and heart disease and say the action complies with both Thai law and international agreements. The groups yesterday gave a boost to the ministry s morale after i
Giant pharmaceutical firms have put further investment in Thailand on hold in response to the Public Health Ministry s decision to seek compulsory licences for cheap versions of drugs to treat heart disease and Aids. Leading pharmaceutical manufacturers have been stunned by the statement and have confirmed that their p
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