My call is a call to action. A moral emergency confronts the shareholders and the drug company executives. This overview of different supply possibilities available today can be a useful tool for national programmes on AIDS and procurement centers. More detailed documents prepared by Oxfam UK about medicine patents, world trade and public health are available in its In-depth Section . Patients are educable.
Drug companies are vincible.
The court hearing was seen as a pivotal case in the ability of developing countries to secure access to affordable and sustainable supplies of generic drugs, particularly anti-retrovirals which are vital to combat AIDS but too costly for all but a tiny minority in the world's poorest countries. The 39 pharmaceutical companies contesting a South African law that could provide cheaper versions of branded Aids drugs have unconditionally dropped the case. The companies also announced that they would meet the South African Government's legal costs. The drugs companies were trying to block legislation which gives the government powers to import or manufacture cheap versions of brand-name drugs. The authorities say they desperately need cheaper drugs to tackle the country's Aids crisis and other diseases.