[e-drug] Princess Anne on access to medicines in developing countries

[e-drug@usa.healthnet.org]

E-DRUG: Princess Anne on access to medicines in developing countries
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
[a remarkable intervention by British royalty on access to medicines!
Crossposted with thanks from IP-Health. Copied as fair use.

Please note that the list "Pharm-Policy" has been integrated into IP-Health.
E-druggers who want more on Intellectual Property debates should
subscribe to IP-Health at
http://lists.essential.org/mailman/listinfo/ip-health
NN]

http://www.thescotsman.co.uk/uk.cfm?id=110909&keyword=the
Sept 26, 2001

Princess Royal berates drug firms over prices

Alastair Dalton Science Correspondent

DRUG companies were attacked yesterday by the Princess Royal
for their "simplistic philanthropy" which was failing to tackle
disease in developing countries.

In a hard-hitting speech to the British Pharmaceutical Conference in
Glasgow, Princess Anne said firms should focus on effective long-term
measures such as cutting drug prices rather than short-term publicity
stunts.

The princess, who is an honorary fellow of the Royal Pharmaceutical
Society, which organised the conference, also warned that basic disease
prevention measures, such as immunisation programmes, were in decline in
many countries. She said donations of medicines often failed to cover
their distribution costs, which sapped other scarce health spending.

The princess, who is also the president of the Save the Children Fund,
said cheap medicines were urgently required to treat conditions such as
HIV and AIDS, and urged the drug industry to re-examine its pricing
policies.

Princess Anne's comments echoed concerns expressed at the conference by
Barbara Stocking, the director of Oxfam GB, who said drug patents were
preventing the production of cheap, generic medicines that poorer
countries could afford.

The princess said: "The key to public recognition of the pharmaceutical
companies' commitment to human health may lie in their realisation that
a systematic approach to pricing based on equity can work for everyone.
Fair pricing based on the ability to pay would be an important step
forward."

The princess said such a move should be seen by drug firms as creating
new markets rather than compromising short-term profits.

However, she warned: "If quick results are what companies want, then
they run the risk of being accused of simplistic philanthropy rather
than rising to the greater challenge of social responsibility.

"Drug donations may raise a company's public profile and share price,
but the transport, distribution, training and administration costs are
usually not covered by the donor."

The princess said this could place a heavy extra burden on health
systems and take money away from other important health programmes.

Princess Anne said more than 150 children were born every day in South
Africa with HIV, but even the cheapest remedies to ease their suffering,
such as from breathing and fungal infections, were beyond reach.

She said that to them, the so-called anti-AIDS "wonder drugs" being used
to prolong the lives of sufferers in richer countries were a "cruel
mirage". The princess also called for more resources and research effort
to be switched into neglected areas of health.

She said: "There is a very long list of neglected diseases peculiar to
the poor world that are ignored by the research community, which must
move up the political agenda. Malaria still kills more children than HIV
and AIDS."

The princess added that too few pharmacists were working in countries
where they were most needed, such as in parts of Africa. She said
immunisation campaigns had waned since the political commitment to them
peaked in the 1980s, and resources had declined dramatically.

She said a shift in focus to individual diseases, such as polio, had
caused a collapse of regular vaccination programmes.
_______________________________________________
Ip-health mailing list
Ip-health@lists.essential.org
http://lists.essential.org/mailman/listinfo/ip-health


--
Send mail for the `E-Drug' conference to `e-drug@usa.healthnet.org'.
Information and archive http://satellife.healthnet.org/programs/edrug.html
Mail administrative requests to `majordomo@usa.healthnet.org'.
For additional assistance, send mail to:  `owner-e-drug@usa.healthnet.org'.