[e-drug] Can we document experiences with PEPFAR please? (3)

["Francisco Rossi" <francisco_rossi@hotmail.com>]

E-DRUG: Can we document experiences with PEPFAR please? (3)
-----------------------------------------------------------

Dear Friends:

Let me backslide, not to document experiences with PEPFAR, but to reissue 
the PEPFAR's use of quality of drugs as a way to protect Big Pharma 
interests and to back their campaign against generics.

Some previous messages highlighted sustainability as a major concern. As far as we know and until we have other therapeutic approach, HIV-AIDS has no cure, and treatment is as long as live, for anyone that the State (or 
himself) begun to treat. And there is no commitment for this long term.  But there is a strong pressure to link patients and States with patented-brand drugs.

After the "voluntary" retirement of Vioxx and the avalanche of publicity of 
unfair advertising practices of Big Pharma in the U.S., there is no argument to defend the concept of stringent authority, but pro-pharma authority. If in the past we were proclivity to consider FDA as the most rigorous and independent institution to protect citizens, it is not true anymore.  And there are a lot of evidence and criticism about the close relations between FDA and pharmaceutical industry.  In this context, the argument of stringent authority is no longer acceptable.

But this issue is more uncomfortable because the implicit criticism against 
health authorities in developing countries.  Of course there are problems. 
Lack of human, financial and technical resources, networking etc.  It is not the only one deficiency of poor countries. And we must live with them, 
trying to change it.  But PEPFAR has no demonstrate its commitment with the 
future of these topics in poor countries. No resources to overcome quality 
control of drugs are considered in PEPFAR.  Just the commitment to back 
brand drugs.

It sounds much more like drug donation, with all the problems of drug 
donations.

Francisco Rossi
francisco_rossi@hotmail.com