On March 15, Bristol-Myers Squibb announced that it would not enforce its patent license on d4T in South Africa. We seek no profits on AIDS drugs in Africa, and we will not let our patents be an obstacle. Though a BMS spokesperson would later tell the Wall Street Journal that the student protests did not compel the decision-making process, the mere timing of events suggests they did. Kapczynski says a professor, whom she would not name, told her that the public comments made by Prusoff had embarrassed the university. They had a lot to fear.
Drug companies are very reluctant to discuss patents.
They're a big funder of university research, and maintaining good relations is important. The universities don't want to be difficult to work with for the pharmaceutical companies because they want to market their compounds to them. Considering these factors, the speed with which the university moved astonished Kapczynski. I didn't expect it to happen as quickly as it did. They're trying to save their public image.