The US Food and Drug Administration has just banned 30 drugs from India s giant Ranbaxy Laboratories because of quality fears but the move is long overdue and Ranbaxy continues to supply the developing world with other drugs that are not checked for quality. The US President s Emergency Plan for Aids Relief (PEPFAR) la
New public health minister Chalerm Yubamrung says he will continue the policy on compulsory licensing (CL) to extend public access to life-saving medicines in spite of pressure from the trade sector. Speaking before hundreds of senior health officials on his first day in office, Mr Chalerm yesterday said it was impossi
Increasing rates of drug resistance among HIV-infected women and infants is prompting calls among health experts to review the national Aids treatment programme on mother-to-child transmission. Manoon Leechanwengwong, president of the Thai Aids Society, said the anti-retroviral treatment programme practised across the
The Council of State will today consider the legitimacy of the compulsory licensing (CL) policy on cancer drugs implemented by the Public Health Ministry. The Commerce Ministry asked the government s legal advisory body to consider the policy s legality in June after the France-based pharmaceutical company Sanofi Avent
Health officials and activists have been keeping a close watch on attempts by multinational pharmaceutical firms to meddle with the national drug and public health policies. Their concerns follow reports that multinational drug firms have tried to lobby Deputy Public Health Minister Wicharn Meenchainant to have their r
Health and consumer activists are set to take legal action against Commerce Minister Chaiya Sasomsab and related trade authorities for issuing an order deemed to protect a pharma giant but block Thai people s access to medicines. The Network of Thai People Living with HIV/Aids, the Aids Access Foundation and the Founda
A joint ministerial committee on compulsory licensing will look into ways of speeding up the sluggish process of importing generic medicines selected by the previous government. The committee will examine problems delaying the provision of seven drug regimens, health deputy permanent secretary Paijit Warachit said yest
Bilateral trade talks between Thailand and the United States could hamper public access to essential drugs, the opposition Democrat party warns. Buranaj Smutharaks, deputy health minister of the opposition s shadow cabinet, yesterday met Public Health Minister Chavarat Charnveerakul, to voice concerns over the possible
I have met many remarkable people in my life: presidents, kings, diplomats. One of the most memorable of these encounters - and certainly the most moving - came a bit more than a year ago, when I met a group of HIV-positive staff members at the UN. For me, it was a moment of epiphany. I was struck by their courage and,
Teenage girls should avoid using the emergency contraceptive levonorgesprel, sometimes known as the morning after pill , after having sex as it could lead to menstrual bleeding and ectopic pregnancy, medical experts have warned. Kittiphong Cheng, head of the Reproductive Health Department, yesterday said many young gir
The current political divisiveness and public distress from the economic crunch has overshadowed a time-bomb that will soon explode - the Aids pandemic. Few paid attention when the Public Health Ministry announced in May that there are now more than one million people with HIV and Aids in Thailand , with un
Children trust adults to keep their promises. It is important to remember that as the survival and health of millions of children will depend on the outcomes of this week s Group of Eight meeting in Japan and to sticking to past promises made. The response of the world s richest nations to rising food prices, healthcar
The Administrative Court recently ordered the reinstatement of Vichai Chokewiwat as chairman of the Government Pharmaceutical Organisation (GPO) board and five other board members dismissed by the cabinet on the recommendation of Public Health Minister Chaiya Sasomsab. Dr Vichai talks about winning the case and what he
The Government Pharmaceutical Organisation (GPO) will speed up the importation of generic drugs for patients under the universal healthcare scheme, as Thailand s policy on compulsory licensing (CL) for life-saving medicine remains crucial, board chairman Vichai Chokewiwat said yesterday. Speaking after the first board
The reinstated Government Pharmaceutical Organisation (GPO) board will review policies of the board appointed by the public health minister, which it has replaced. The Administrative Court is considering a petition filed by Vichai Chokewiwat against an order removing him and several other individuals from the GPO board
The Administrative Court yesterday ordered the reinstatement of former chairman Vichai Chokewiwat and the five other former members of the board of the Government Pharmaceutical Organisation (GPO). The six men were sacked by the cabinet last month on the recommendation of Public Health Minister Chaiya Sasomsab, who app
The first batch of the generic heart drug clopidogrel ordered under the compulsory licensing scheme over a year ago, will soon be available in state hospitals, Wanchai Supachaturas, deputy managing director of the Government Pharmaceutical Organisation (GPO), said yesterday. He said 1.2 million tablets of clopidogrel,
Women thinking of earning quick money in the sex trade in South Africa have been urged to abandon the idea given the high rate of HIV/Aids transmission there. Deputy city clerk Sithisat Chiamwongpaet said he was told by Thai ambassador to South Africa Domdej Bunnag that quite a few Thai sex workers had returned home fr
Thailand may soon scrap compulsory licensing (CL) to bypass drug patents and widen access to life-saving medicines, Public Health Minister Chaiya Sasomsab said yesterday. The minister indicated that the end of CL could come in the near future because we ve got sufficient drugs for treating major diseases like Aids, h
Next week s trade mission to the United States is raising worries over the future of compulsory licensing (CL) of life-saving medicines. The action plan which the negotiating team led by commerce permanent secretary Siriphol Yodmuangcharoen intends to put to Washington is likely to involve the CL policy to bypass paten
The Global Fund to Fight Aids has allocated US$98 million (3.2 billion baht) to continue supporting the anti-HIV/Aids campaign in Thailand for another six years. The funding will help the country carry on with its HIV/Aids prevention and treatment strategy, and will replace the present budget which runs out in Septembe
Vichai Chokewiwat, former chairman of the board of the Government Pharmaceutical Organisation (GPO), is to lodge a petition opposing his sacking to the Administrative Court next week. Dr Vichai, a key advocate of compulsory licensing, said he will seek justice from the court and accused Public Health Minister Chaiya Sa
The sacking of the Government Pharmaceutical Organisation s board of directors earlier this week has stunned the medical establishment. Public Health Minister Chaiya Sasomsab had openly made known that he wanted the state enterprise s chairman, Dr Vichai Chokewiwat, replaced. And on Tuesday he received the Cabinet s ap
A key advocate of compulsory licensing, Dr Vichai Chokewiwat, has been removed from the position of chairman of the board of the Government Pharmaceutical Organisation (GPO). The cabinet yesterday endorsed the sacking of the entire board, on the recommendation of Public Health Minister Chaiya Sasomsab. Thirachai Wuthit
RAYONG: The final phase of an Aids vaccine trial in Thailand which is due to be completed next year has showed promising results as the latest results revealed that the number of volunteers who contracted the virus was lower than expected, experts say. Of the total of 16,402 volunteers recruited for the clinical trial,
Second-line generic Aids drugs have already reached most HIV-positive patients as a direct result of the compulsory licensing (CL) policy, the National Health Security Office (NHSO) says. Delivery of the first batch of the generic version of the drug Kaletra , worth 21 million baht, to state hospitals throughout the
You die from going without food, not from without making love. This much-recited line from our folk epic Khun Chang Khun Phaen seems a fitting consolation for Thai women amid the skyrocketing food prices and a news report that 70% of our sisters must endure lousy sex. If you wonder why I link these two things together
Members of the Government Pharmaceutical Organisation labour union rallied in front of the state drug enterprise yesterday in protest against Public Health Minister Chaiya Sasomsab s plan to appoint a representative from the pharmaceutical industry to the GPO board. Mr Chaiya last week proposed the appointment of Teera
The United States is hoping the new government will cave in to the latest US pressure and offer closer cooperation on the issue of intellectual property rights, including compulsory licensing. Thailand is among a handful of countries being closely watched by US trade authorities. Visiting US under-secretary of comm
The new and tougher US criticism of Thailand over intellectual property rights (IPR) exposes a widening gulf between the two countries on the vital issue of copyright. The US demands more and tougher crackdowns on pirates; Thailand is already spending millions on that. Washington insists everyone must play by the rules
Embattled Public Health Minister Chaiya Sasomsab has bowed to fierce criticism of his plan to appoint a representative of the pharmaceutical industry to the board of the Government Pharmaceutical Organisation (GPO). He has promised to hold talks with health officials before going ahead with the proposal. Mr Chaiya agai
HIV-positive men are unhappy about the sluggish distribution of Aids drugs sold under the trade name Kaletra . A state policy allowing a generic version of the medicine to be imported has been in place for more than a year, but few patients have been treated with it, even after developing resistance to first-line drugs
Two boys, aged seven and eight, who were forcibly sodomised by a homosexual youth at an internet cafe near Chao Phor Suea Shrine early this month, have been given antiviral drugs as they face the risk of HIV infection. The drugs were given as a precaution as the 17-year-old suspected rapist, who is now in police detent
Thailand s Red Cross Society should reveal more scientific evidence to support its decision to ban homosexuals from giving blood donations. Thailand s Disease Control Department has found that the greatest risk of contracting HIV/Aids comes from having unprotected sex, regardless of whether someone is homosexual or het
An increase in the number of HIV-positive people with resistance to the first-line drug GPO-VIR has prompted health authorities to step up preventive measures on viral load screening. The Disease Control Department made a study of HIV-positive people who have taken the medicine for six months, and found 12% had develop
Public Health Minister Chaiya Sasomsab has finally decided to push forward the policy on compulsory licensing, spearheaded by his predecessor Dr Mongkol Na Songkhla, to extend access to four generic versions of cancer drugs. Mr Chaiya s about-turn is seen as an attempt to tone down mounting pressure on himself - eviden
The Thai Red Cross Society has resolved to reject blood donations from homosexual men in a move which has met with strong opposition from human rights organisations. The decision came after a study found that men who had sex with other men were at risk of contracting HIV/Aids and transmitting the blood-borne virus.
Health activists and an alliance of cancer and Aids patients have submitted a statement of intent to the Senate to proceed with the impeachment of Public Health Minister Chaiya Sasomsab over his compulsory licensing (CL) policy. In their letter given to Senate Speaker Prasopsuk Boondech, the activists said they would g
Casual and unprotected sex is being blamed for the high number of new HIV/Aids cases - with at least 40 people a day being infected. The number was released in a survey by the national sub-committee on Aids prevention. The survey results have prompted health authorities to dust off a campaign to encourage the use of co
The US Trade Representative (USTR) yesterday called for more participation by all parties concerned including drug companies in talks over the issue of compulsory licences for drugs. The call was made in a 30-minute meeting between Barbara Weisel, the assistant USTR for Southeast Asia, and deputy public health permanen
A patient forum was held for the first time yesterday on access to drug and medical treatment. The forum, chaired by health advocate and former senator Jon Ungpakorn, was attended by about 100 cancer and heart disease patients as well as people living with HIV/Aids who shared their views on problems relating to public
The Government Pharmaceutical Organisation (GPO) plans to manufacture local versions of anti-Aids and heart drugs that are listed under the compulsory licensing scheme. Witit Artavatkun, GPO managing director, yesterday said imports of two antiretroviral medicines, Efavirenz and Lopinavir/
All 10 Asean countries have ratified the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women, and have endorsed the Beijing Platform for Action, the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security. Integrating gender equality and women s empow
With the whole world watching, the new government must make absolutely clear its stand on the matter of compulsory licensing. The mixed signals being sent out so far have led many to fear this life-saving policy might be scrapped. Immediately after his appointment as the new health minister, Chaiya Sasomsab announced h
Secretary-general of the Food and Drug Administration ( FDA ) Siriwat Tiptaradol has been transferred to an inactive post in a move observers see as linked to the compulsory licensing (CL) policy. Mr Siriwat is the second senior official to be suddenly moved from his position by the government. Sunai Manomai-udom w
Thailand should also petition the World Trade Organisation (WTO) if Washington takes the compulsory licensing dispute to the organisation, says Aat Pisanwanich, an economics lecturer at the Thai Chamber of Commerce University. Like the US, Thailand is also a WTO member country and seeking flexibilities under the Trad
A plan by Public Health Minister Chaiya Sasomsab to review the policy on compulsory licensing (CL) for four cancer drugs has hit a major obstacle after officials from three ministries found that it cannot be revoked. Mr Chaiya said permanent secretaries of the commerce, foreign affairs and public health ministries had
Nothing highlights the inhumanity of the global economic system better than drug patents. Because of drug patents, numerous life-saving drugs for treating Aids, cancer, heart disease, etc, are priced at anything between five times to 20 times their production cost, putting them out of reach of millions of people across
-- Opposition and NLA members oppose idea Public Health Minister Chaiya Sasomsab s plan to cancel the compulsory licensing (CL) of patented medicines came under attack from the opposition Democrats and the National Legislative Assembly (NLA) on the first day of the government policy debate yesterday. Democrat leader Ab
Rayong - Industry from now on will also be required to submit health impact assessment (HIA) study reports for approval before going ahead with their investment projects, in a bid to protect surrounding communities from life-threatening industrial pollution. Drafted by experts from the Public Health and the Natural Res
The possible downgrading of the country by the US Trade Representative to make Thailand fall into the Priority Foreign Country list - so that Thailand could face US trade sanctions - has nothing to do with the state s compulsory licensing policy on drugs. Importing the cheaper generic versions of some expensive patente
The ministers of commerce, foreign affairs and health are to meet next week to make a decision on the compulsory licensing (CL) of some drugs. Tharit Charungvat, the Foreign Affairs Ministry spokesman, told the media the permanent secretaries of the three ministries widely discussed the advantages and disadvantages of
The commerce, public health, and foreign affairs ministries will meet today to make a joint decision on whether compulsory licensing (CL) on three cancer drugs should be discontinued. The urgent meeting follows the cabinet s decision on Tuesday to delay reviewing CL, a highly sensitive and controversial issue. The Comm
-- Former PM Thaksin may return to Thailand as early as this month / Several Democrat MPs weren t sure the party should have proposed Abhisit as alternative PM Public Health Minister Chaiya Sasomsab made headlines recently on his first day in office when he threw a Chinese banquet for 400 ministry officials on Chinese
Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej has instructed the Public Health Ministry to hold talks with the Foreign and Commerce ministries to decide if it should go ahead with the coup-appointed government s scheme to bypass heart and cancer drug patents. The decision was seen by health advocates and consumer groups as a tactic
-- As expected, the new government is apparently taking a pro-business view on the issue of compulsory licensing Despite the uproar, the new Public Health Minister Chaiya Sasomsab s vow on his first day in the office to review the ministerial announcement of compulsory licensing schemes for four cancer medicines, did n
Health activists, cancer and Aids patients yesterday urged Public Health Minister Chaiya Sasomsab to stick with the compulsory licences on cancer and Aids drugs announced by the previous government. About 50 protesters from a network of people living with HIV/Aids and cancer patients gathered at the Public Health Minis
Newly-appointed Public Health Minister Chaiya Sasomsab has started to diagnose his ministry s ills and has already put the thorny issue of compulsory licensing on his agenda, along with the latest regional outbreak of bird flu. Surprisingly, he says he will also give his attention to fighting the menace of dengue fever
-- Mongkol: People will know who benefits New Public Health Minister Chaiya Sasomsab came under fire yesterday from his predecessor, medical experts and health activists for his plan to review the compulsory licensing (CL) of cancer medications. Former public health minister Mongkol na Songkhla said Mr Chaiya had the r
A report by international trade and health experts which aims to help Thailand extend public access to costly life-saving drugs by seeking flexibility in global trade rules will reach the new government by next week. Paul Cawthorne, the head of mission for Medicin Sans Frontieres (MSF), said it was very good news aft
For millions of the world s poorest people, ill-health and disease too often go hand in hand with grinding poverty and blunted national aspirations. In looking for solutions to this troubling state of global health, we can learn a great deal from Thailand . Given that most of the world s development thinking cascades f
Health and consumer activists will ask the Administrative Court to look into the Internal Trade Department s decision not to take legal action against the US pharmaceutical giant Abbott Laboratories for alleged violations of trade laws. Abbott cancelled the registration of the heat-stable version of an anti-retroviral
In a move to increase public access to affordable cancer drugs, the Food and Drug Administration ( FDA ) has registered one of three generic versions of a cancer drug that is likely to be listed for a compulsory license. Public Health Minister Mongkol Na Songkhla yesterday said Indian-made cancer drug docetaxel had pas
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