Group Calls for Compulsory Licensing Policy (Thailand)

Jiraporn Limpananont, faculty member of the Pharmaceutical Sciences division of Chulalongkorn University in Thailand, voiced concern recently over the new government and compulsory licensing's future in Thailand following the next general election. "The new government must consider compulsory licensing to be included in the national policy and must have the intention to realize it," he stated. Thailand started dispensing compulsory licensing in late 2006. The pharmaceutical firms are Merck's MSD (Thailand), Abbott Laboratories, and Sanofi-Aventis, which make Efavirenz, Kaletra, and Plavix, respectively. Efavirenz and Kaletra are AIDS medications and Plavix is employed to combat heart disease. Achara Eksaengsri, deputy director of the Government Pharmaceutical Organization's Research and Development Institute, noted it would be simple for the new government to decree compulsory licensing for the new medications because the ministry had succeeded in utilizing compulsory licensing for heart disease pharmaceuticals and could import less expensive versions. National Research Council of Thailand's Chemical and Pharmaceutical Science research group chairman Montri Chulavatnatol stressed that the government has to think about the future of medications and the healthcare system after compulsory licensing runs out. (Print Edition Only: Link to Full Text Unavailable