Abbott Laboratories halts new drugs to Thailand

Manufacturing News, Source : The Manufacturer US
Published : 13 Mar 2007 21:51

They’ll be in negotiations later this week, but until then, Abbott Laboratories has pledged not to launch new medicinces in Thailand.

This after Thailand’s Ministry of Public Health issued a compulsory license last month which, in essence, voids Abbott’s patent on its HIV antiviral Kaletra.

The compulsory license allows Thai industry to produce a lower-cost alternative to Kaletra. Thailand is framing this as a response to a “national emergency”: nearly 600,000 Thais live with HIV, and the government funds medical treatment. A generic Kaletra would cost about $120 per month per patient, versus $347 for Kaletra.

Thailand has similarly suspended the patent on Plavix, Sanofi-Aventis’ blood thinner.

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