The publicity war between Thai health officials, Aids activists and the pharmaceutical industry in the US has heated up over Thailand's decision to exercise its right to import generic versions of expensive Aids and heart-disease drugs to help poor patients.

The battle was stirred up by an advertisement placed in The Nation yesterday by USA for Innovation, a group that lobbies for US pharmaceutical firms.

The full-page ad alleged that Thailand's move to invoke compulsory licensing to get around drug patents would hurt "the poor and sick of Thailand".

Most Thais with HIV or Aids would "not have access to the world's best medicines" but would be treated with locally made drugs, it said, such as the Aids drug GPO-Vir - "a copy HIV treatment" - which a Mahidol University study had found to have a resistance rate of 39.6 to 58 per cent.

"This is one of the worst cases of HIV drug resistance in the world," the provocative advertisement said.

However, the Government Pharmaceutical Organisation (GPO), which manufactured the GPO-Vir drug, rejected the allegation yesterday, saying resistance to its product was only 10 per cent.

Wanchai Suppajaturas, deputy director of the GPO, said the drug was good and cheap, and could help save the lives of more than 100,000 people with HIV/Aids.

The GPO was supported by local Aids activists and Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF, Doctors Without Borders), the acclaimed international health organisation.

"If the drug has high resistance, why are so many patients still using it? And why is the number of deaths from Aids in Thailand decreasing?" Wanchai said.

Aids Access Foundation director Nimitr Tien-udom called on the public to be aware of the hidden message between the "lies" of the advertisement.

"The advertisement is for the interests of those who pay for it. It is clear that the advertisement is an effort to counter the issue of compulsory licensing of US Aids drugs. The money they used to pay for the advertisement came from the pockets of all of us who paid for their expensive medicines," Nimitr said.

USA for Innovation is run by Kenneth Adelman, senior counsellor at Edelman Public Relations Worldwide. Among the largest clients of Edelman is Abbott Laboratories, which is involved in a patent dispute with Thailand over its life-saving Aids drug Kaletra.

MSF representative in Thailand, Dr David Wilson, condemned the ad for "telling lies" and attempting to destroy the reputation of the state-run GPO, which has played a key role in developing cheaper drugs that the poor can get access to.

"It also shakes the confidence of Aids patients about GPO-Vir. This is unacceptable," he said in a telephone interview.

The Nation also received strong criticism from the public for running the full-page ad. Jiraporn Limpananond, a lecturer at Chulalongkorn University's Faculty of Pharmacy, said the paper had "sold its soul" by publishing the advertisement.

"It is so sad that Thai media published an advertisement that told lies and caused disunity among Thais," she said.

Tulsathit Taptim, editor of The Nation, called on critics to judge the paper's editorial stand on the issue - from its editorials. He pointed out that the company's editorial and advertising departments worked independently to ensure both sections had minimal conflicts of interest.

He said the paper was willing to explore the big global controversy over compulsory licensing and would welcome arguments against the ad and give both sides equal reporting space.

Yesterday's advertisement is part of a huge public relations campaign by USA for Innovation. While the controversial ad was published in Thailand, Adelman sent an open letter yesterday to US Congressmen, urging them to respond in a "vigorous manner" to Thailand and Brazil, which moved last Friday to invoke compulsory licensing and break the patent on a US Aids drug.

In his letter, Adelman accused Thailand and Brazil of signalling to the world that they were "unwilling to respect international patent protection".

"Thailand and Brazil have no excuse for their behaviour. They are not poor countries and cannot claim to be in crisis," the letter said.

USA for Innovation has also created the website www.thailies.com and vowed to "draw attention to the deceit in Thailand's decision to steal American and European innovation".

The "recent lies by Health Minister Mongkol Na Songkhla for two weeks from May 7 to 18" posted on www.thailies.com include the use of compulsory licensing. The site claims that Thailand violated the World Trade Organisation (WTO) agreement on intellectual property. It also claims the Health Minister "did not make a single effort to negotiate with drug firms before issuing the compulsory licence".

The allegations were countered or explained by Thailand's Foreign Affairs and Public Health ministries (see graphic).

The Foreign Ministry countered the claims via its website www.mfa.go.th and said that the use of compulsory licensing was permitted under the Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Properties.

"So, our action is WTO-consistent. Even the USTR has not disputed this," the Foreign Ministry website said. USTR refers to the US Trade Representative, which downgraded Thailand's trade status to Priority Watch List recently - allegedly for worsening intellectual property rights infringements.

The USTR move has left Thailand open to trade penalties and the possible loss of privileges under the General System of Preferences system. This is the first time the Foreign Ministry has got involved in the compulsory-licensing dispute since it erupted early this year. 

Pennapa Hongthong

The Nation