Panic is not a symptom of the avian flu. But fear of what the deadly virus can do is causing some to lose their heads.
Already one government – India – is planning to ignore the patent and make a generic version of Tamiflu, the prescription drug that many health experts believe is the most likely medication to effectively fight off the bird flu. Taiwan could do the same. The Philippines has asked the World Health Organization to grant permission to allow its manufacturers to make Tamiflu.
And United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan is suggesting that governments violate the intellectual property rights of the maker of Tamiflu, also known by its generic name of oseltamivir. (Hey, maybe he should propose a new UN program to ensure the drug is distributed fairly, like the UN did for Iraq in the Oil for Food program. Just a thought.)
And in this country, Democratic Sen. Charles Schumer has demanded that Tamiflu patent-holder Roche license Tamiflu production to five American companies.
The justification for stripping the Switzerland-based Roche of its legal patent protection is, of course, claiming it is a noble effort for the greater good in the time of a public health emergency. (One that has yet to actually emerge.) After all, a bird flu pandemic could kill millions across the world, some fear. We could see a repeat of the Spanish flu pandemic of 1918-19 that killed 25 million to 50 million. To seize Roche’s property on behalf of the commonweal would be an act of compassion.
Ever wonder how much harm has been done in the name of the “public good”?
The fact is that Roche — perhaps seeing the “hand wringing” on the wall — has already started negotiating with other drug manufacturers in other countries. At least that would allow Roche some control over mass-production of its drug.
But there is a disingenuousness in all this do-goodism. The generic drug manufacturers located in many of developing countries calling for the patent confiscation would be given the rights to make the drug. And those generic manufacturers provide funds for local politicians who claim they must take the drug.
In other words, the objection to Roche profiting from its Tamiflu patent is coming from many generic manufacturers and foreign elected officials who would, well, profit from making the generic version.