IPR+Neg+-+China+CP

Observation 1: Text

(For our lab): China should authorize the use of the subject matter of patents regarding treatment for and prevention of human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome without the authorization of the right holder, for use in Africa south of the Sahara by the European Union or third parties authorized by the European Union.

(For other labs): China should export generic antiretroviral to Sub-Saharan under Article 4 of the TRIPS Agreement.

Observation 2: Solvency

Pharmaceutical companies in China have started producing generic versions of drugs which combat HIV legally alongside patented versions BBC News, Helen Sewell, BBC science reporter, 11/16/01, “China demands cheaper Aids drugs,” http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/1659898.stm)

Two pharmaceutical companies in China have applied to start producing cheap, generic versions of the drugs which combat HIV, the virus that leads to Aids. The drugs are currently made by some of the world's largest pharmaceutical organisations, which hold the international patents for the medicines. The Chinese Government wants to negotiate cheaper deals with them, but if the discussions fail, it has not ruled out allowing Chinese firms to make similar drugs. China has about 600,000 people with HIV, and the figures increase by almost a third each year. But anti-HIV drugs are prohibitively expensive for many and the cost can mean the difference between life and death. Price negotiations Chinese firm Shanghai Desano says it can lower the price from $10,000 to less than $400 a year per person. The state-owned Northeast General Pharmaceutical Factory has also applied to produce generic versions of the drugs. China's government is starting to take the Aids threat seriously, and top Chinese and United Nations health officials and major foreign drug firms have been attending the country's first national Aids conference in Beijing this week. The government says it has no plans to break international patent agreements on HIV drugs, and is trying to negotiate a better price deal with official manufacturers. However there are loopholes in Chinese law, which could allow generic drug makers to copy and sell medicines alongside the patented version. China is not the first country to demand cheaper HIV drugs. Earlier this year 39 leading pharmaceutical companies backed down in a court battle with the South African Government, which was seeking the right to produce or import cheaper versions of patented drugs.