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Search Terms: compulsory licensing AND AIDS AND Africa, House or Senate or Joint

Document 8 of 17.

JULY 22, 1999, THURSDAY

SECTION: IN THE NEWS

LENGTH: 968 words

HEADLINE: PREPARED TESTIMONY OF
THE HONORABLE MARION BERRY
BEFORE THE HOUSE COMMITTEE ON GOVERNMENT REFORM
SUBCOMMITTEE ON CRIMINAL JUSTICE, HUMAN RESOURCES
AND DRUG POLICY
SUBJECT - WHAT IS THE UNITED STATES' ROLE
IN COMBATING THE GLOBAL HIV/AIDS EPIDEMIC?

BODY:

I applaud Chairman Mica for holding this hearing today concerning the global HIV/AIDS epidemic. Over 14 million people have died of the disease. In many southern African countries 25 percent of the population between the ages of 15 and 49 are infected. By 2005, the death toll is projected to be 13,000 people per day. The United States Surgeon General, David Satcher, recently writing for the Journal of the American Medical Association, likened AIDS to the plague that decimated the population of Europe in the 14th Century. I also agree with Surgeon General Satcher's comment that "perhaps most important in the battle against HIV/AIDS is political commitment. Leaders at the national, provincial, and local government must speak out about HIV/AIDS and encourage businesses and nongovernmental organizations to commit to work against the disease."
I have worked as a pharmacist and now serve as co-chairman of the House of Representatives Prescription Drag Task Force that I founded along with Jim Turner and Tom Allen. I am familiar with issues involving the cost and availability of prescription drugs in our country, and I believe these same issues are critical to improving health care and access to prescription drugs in developing nations.
I am optimistic that one day a combination of government and private research will lead to a vaccine for HIV and eventually a cure. It is tremendously important that governments have policies in place that encourage investment in preventing and treating the disease. Successful government policies will encourage both research and development for finding new cures, and providing access to the technology for those who need it.Developing a cure for AIDS would be a monumental breakthrough, but even that wouldn't solve all the problems we face. Modem treatments for AIDS have cut in half the number of patients dying from the disease in the U.S. However, the number of deaths resulting from the disease continues to rise rapidly in Africa. Additionally, almost three times as many people, most of them in tropical countries of the world, die of preventable, curable diseases as die of AIDS. Doctors Without Borders, a group that will be testifying later today, has conducted substantial research concerning this topic.
I welcome the Administration's proposal to increase the U.S. investment in fighting HIV/AIDS in Africa by $100 million. The new funding would go primarily to prevention, providing child care for children of whose parents have AIDS and to offer counseling and support for those with AIDS. I'm sure the help will be appreciated, but noticeably it will not help one more patient get life-saving medicines that are now available.
It is important that we help developing countries have health care systems in place that have the resources and infrastructure to provide an adequate level of care. Countries will also be much better equipped to provide needed medications if they can be acquired in the marketplace at a reasonable price. The U.S. government could play a major role in helping countries obtain medicines at a fair price if U.S. trade negotiators promoted free trade and playing by the rules of international trade agreements.
Over three million South Africans are HIV positive, including 45 percent of its military. One in five South African pregnant women test positive for HIV. Access to affordable medicine is also a critical issue for the elderly and others suffering from chronic diseases and medical conditions. Prescription drugs are not currently an option for many patients in South Africa, where the drugs often cost more than they do in the United States. The 1997 per capita income in South Africa was estimated to be only $6,200 annually.
To address the problem, President Mandela and the South African Government enacted a law in 1997 to reform the country's prescription drug marketplace. The law amends the SouthAfrican Medicines Act to allow prescription drugs to be purchased in the international marketplace where prices are lower. It would also allow compulsory licensing in some cases. Regulations implementing the law have not come forward while the law is being constitutionally challenged in South African courts by drug makers in their country.
However, the pharmaceutical industry has persuaded the United States government to work to have the South African law repealed. In February, the United States Department of State released a report titled, U.S. Government Efforts to Negotiate the Repeal, Termination or Withdrawal of Article 15(c) of the South African Medicines and Related Substances Act of 1965.
While special interest groups have tried to convince members of Congress and the administration that implementation of the South African Medicines Act would cause violations of international intellectual property rights agreements, I have seen no evidence that such violations are likely to occur. Compulsory licensing is not an assault on intellectual property rights. Instead, it is part of the copyright and patent systems which enable the interest of the public to be served. Compulsory licensing is permitted under Article 31 of the WTO Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS). In fact, French law authorizes compulsory licensing when medicines are "only available to the public in insufficient quantity or quality or at abnormally high prices." Only three months ago the United States House of Representatives voted 422 to 1 to continue the practice of compulsory licensing for television broadcast signals as part of the Satellite Home Viewer Act of 1999.
In addressing the global HIV/AIDS epidemic it is imperative that we examine the trade policies of our country to ensure we are promoting what is in everyone's best interest.
END

LOAD-DATE: July 28, 1999

Document 8 of 17.


Search Terms: compulsory licensing AND AIDS AND Africa, House or Senate or Joint
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