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Thailand to import generic drug from India for heart patients
Thailand’s Government Pharmaceutical Organisation (GPO)
announced last week that it will soon import cheaper versions of heart drug
Clopidogrel from India.
GPO chairman Wichai Chokevivatana said the imported blood-thinning drug will
cost only one baht (three cents) each, much cheaper than the current price
of 70 baht (US$2) each.
The decision, he said, would save the nation some Bt138 million (US$4
million). The first lot of two million pills will be delivered within two
months by the Indian company M-cure, which won bid recently at 1.01 baht per
tablet.
Currently, the ratio of heart-disease patients in Thailand is 350:100,000.
Each year Thailand imports 20.5 million pills of the drug better known under
the trade name Plavix, which only 20 per cent of patients can afford.
In January, the Public Health Ministry issued compulsory licenses for the
heart disease drug Plavix, made by Bristol-Myers Squibb and Sanofi-Aventis
and Abbott Laboratories’ Kaletra to treat HIV/AIDS, after making a similar
move on another AIDS drug, Efavirenz, by Merck last November.
The licenses, which Thai health officials said would save the country up to
Bt800 million (US$24 million) a year, drew praise from AIDS activists but
flak from Washington and the drug industry, which together urged the
ministry to rescind them.
The three foreign pharmaceutical companies complained they were caught by
surprise as the government overruled their patent rights without prior
consultation or negotiation - a point strongly denied by public health
officials who claimed they have repeatedly held talks with the patent
holders over pricing, but without significant progress.
Public Health Minister Dr. Mongkol Na Songkhla said that compulsory
licensing was justified under the World Trade Organization (WTO) rules which
allow governments to declare national emergencies and license the production
or sale of patented drugs without the permission of the foreign patent
owners.
He stood firm on the policy that the ministry would consider buying
medicines under patent if their prices were not more than 5 per cent above
the cost of the generic drugs declared under the compulsory licensing (CL)
procedure. (TNA)
New executive teams up with
Alan Bolton Property Consultants
Jacqueline Wright: the new
Property Manager at Alan Bolton Property Consultants (ABPC).
Alan Bolton Property Consultants (Team ABPC) recently
announced the appointment of Jacqueline Wright to the position of Property
Manager. Jacqueline brings with her an extensive background in sales and
marketing in the property industry and has accumulated a wealth of experience
working in South East Asian countries.
Her last position was in Sarawak, Malaysia offering expatriates her assistance
and knowledge in making Asia wide investments.
CEO Alan Bolton said: “We would like to welcome Jacqueline to our expanding
company, we feel that she will help greatly to fill a long neglected niche in
the Pattaya real estate market. I personally wish her the very best in her new
role and look forward to a long and rewarding future.”
Thai auto exports increase as domestic sales slump
The Federation of Thai Industries (FTI) said that
Thailand’s automobile exports increased by 19 per cent in the first seven
months of this year, in contrast with the total domestic sales, which
dropped due to the economic slowdown.
FTI spokesman Suraphong Paisitpattanaphong said that automobile production
from January to July this year totaled 706,749 vehicles, an increase of 2.25
per cent, compared to the same period last year.
Of the total auto production, 370,885 vehicles were made for export, an
increase of 20.56 per cent and 335,864 for sale in the local market, a 12.43
per cent drop compared to last year.
According to the FTI, auto sales in Thailand decreased in the last seven
months because consumer confidence is low, resulting from the economic
sluggishness, oil price hikes, and political turmoil.
The manufacture of sedans for export increased to 12,349, up 37.10 per cent
in July 2007 and 80,041 from January to July 2007, an increase of 16.66 per
cent.
The production of one-tonne pick-up trucks for export totaled 45,663 in July
2007 or an increase of 46.60 and 290,844 from January to July 2007, up 21.76
per cent.
Thailand’s auto exports totaled 56,042 in July 2007, a 38.17 per cent
year-on-year rise, valued at Bt23.9 billion, surging 33.67 per cent from the
corresponding period last year. (TNA)
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