NEWS: Taiwan To Ignore Roche Tamiflu Patent

Taiwan has announced that it is making it's own generic version of the Roche pharmaceutical drug Tamiflu. The Taiwanese Government state that talks will continue with the makers of the drug but say the safety and health of Taiwanese citizens is of paramount importance and the priority is to protect those people from the effects of Avian Bird Flu. A local Taiwanese pharmaceuical company has been asked to produce the generic drug and it is projected that 200000 doses will be manufactured in the next two months. Production of the generic drug is already underway as the danger of the Bird Flu pandemic heightens in the Asian region.



Good on them. I think its great and shows the concern for the people. Roche is making a mint out of this and greed and profit have been a shining example with the company refusing the share the drug and help get it out on the market quicker.

This is not about money and shamefully this company has shown themselves to be the greedy ruthless unfeeling, uncaring brick wall that they are. This is people's lives, this is the peoples future.

If these massive companies are not stopped now from crossing the line in cases like this, they will just march on in and sweep aside lives like dirt on the end of a broom.



[edit on 22-10-2005 by Mayet]

Yay! Now we just need Roche to go bankrupt and they'll be begging us to make it

[edit on 22/10/05 by Atomix]

I like the idea the govt is controlling it. Health workers should be given it first, then at-risk (elderly, sick, etc.) and I hope that corruption doesn't set in. But I think that if there's one thing the Taiwanese know about is fairness. They'll do the right thing.

Perhaps they can set a nominal fee for whatever doses they can spare for average people to take one if they wish? Set aside a portion of that to fight their legal battles when Rouche takes them to court.

Good for them. Its nice that at least a few countries don't put obscene profits before the lives of its people. I don't think we'll ever see that day in the U.S. Greed will always dominate here. Its better that someone become a billionare than having thousands of people live.

I just want to say how glad I am to hear that someone is finally sticking it to the companies who are more concerned with profits than with lives. I feel like this could be a major event, which could well change the way medicine is handled.

Edit

I missed the authors mention of the talks in the intro.

[edit on 10/22/2005 by shots]

Taiwan is playing it smart. They aren't going to let Roche hold the lives of the people of Taiwan for ransom.

You Know if it wasn't so close to China and North Korea and didn't get such godawful typhoons......I would think about moving there myself. No better entertainment than to go and watch Taiwan parliament battle it out in hand to hand combat ....

[edit on 22-10-2005 by Mayet]

Excuse me,
but isn't the ordinary human flu deadly too...Many deseases on this planet kill people...many more are scarry than this one(AIDS),by the way not existant in desease(the only way to catch Avian Flu is to be in close contact with the bird/there is no Avian Flu passed from human to human and the possibility of that kind of mutation is statisticly insignificant)...So way all the countries just stop paying to the companies and nationalize all the patents...It will be really cool...In 5 years the pharmaceutical industry will not exist...
When there is an Avian Flu that pass from human to human,I will be the first person to support every government on this Planet to brake the patent in order to save lives...But right now,braking the patent of a drug that is not a vacine,but a regular treatment drug,witch only improves the chances of survival to 50%,for desease that has struck 120 people so far in 4 years(only 4 in Taiwan as long as I remember) is in my eyes just a robbery in the middle of the day...
Let us see if Taiwan will just make a generic version of the drug,and will produce it only if there is pandemic,or will sell it to others too...

[edit on 22-10-2005 by ZMax]

[edit on 22-10-2005 by ZMax]

How many diseases pose the risk of killing millions of people in very short order? If you have the ability to provide relief to people in need but refuse to for the sake of profit you are no better than the terrorist that abducts someone and holds them for ransom. Dr's and nurses have ethics rules that require them to stop at the scene of an accident (whether it be a car crash, someone falling, etc) and provide treatment until the time reinforcements arrive. How would you like to be laying in the road bleeding badly just to have someone say. "You want to live? Sign over your house and car." Thats basically what pharmaceutical companies do when they refuse to increase production or grant the rights of others to produce the medicine in a time of crisis. It basically amounts to extortion. Give me what you got or die. Thats the attitude they have.

Originally posted by ZMax
When there is an Avian Flu that pass from human to human,I will be the first person to support every government on this Planet to brake the patent in order to save lives...But right now,braking the patent of a drug that is not a vacine,but a regular treatment drug,witch only improves the chances of survival to 50%,for desease that has struck 120 people so far in 4 years(only 4 in Taiwan as long as I remember) is in my eyes just a robbery in the middle of the day...
Let us see if Taiwan will just make a generic version of the drug,and will produce it only if there is pandemic,or will sell it to others too...
[edit on 22-10-2005 by ZMax]

Zmax.. firstly Human to human transmission has already occured in isolated blocks this year.

secondly in a perfect world it would happen like you said but this is not a perfect world. By the time a pandemic is announced, it will be too late. The pandemic is projected to sweep the world in a matter of weeks. From Index case to millions of deaths may only be a matter of a week or two.

As you can see by the article above it takes two months to produce 200000 doses.

So only a few will receive medication in the scenario your projecting. That is why steps HAVE to be taken now by the Taiwanese if they wish to protect there citizens in the event of a pandemic.

Some times positive action must be taken early and foresight is a handy asset to have.



[edit on 22-10-2005 by Mayet]

Indy,
WHO says between 2.5 and 3.4 million people died in 2004 from AIDS...That's in one year...I'll make the math for you - it makes 120 people die from AIDS every 20 minutes even less...How's that...I asked you:"Why not nationalizing all the patents right now,so we can help all the sick and dying?"...
You know the ansor very well...Because once there is no profit from drugs,the people(just like me and you) will stop buying the pharmaceutical companies' stocks,they will go out of buziness,and no one will make R&D for new drugs(and believe me they will be desease after the "great nationalization")...
To make a drug costs 800 000 000 $...Only one...Why the sneazy taiwanease(in your view) don't invest money and time in producing one(and they have the money,the scientists,and R&D base)...Very simple...they were not prudent enough to see 4 years ago what the future will be...on the other hand there is Roche - a private company witch invested $ 800 million of it's own money,took a risk,and now they have a drug...If they knew someone is going to still their work why would they invest money in that kind of drug?

My parents teached me that you have to give even if you don't have much to the person in need...Every single day the so called "poor" in Europe and North America are saying the "rich" must help them,that the government must rise the taxes of the rich...But they are 1 billion people who go to sleap hungry,2 billion more eat but their food lack vital vitamins and minerals,2 billions don't know to read or right,4 billion will never have the opportunity to use internet,because they lack proper sanitation and education,there is no electricity or fresh water supply...And when you ask all those "poor" are they ready to pay higher taxes so the really poor people in this World can have a chance,they will told you NO...

Now ask yourself the same...Than come to teach me what is terrorism,and who's terrorist...

[edit on 22-10-2005 by ZMax]

Originally posted by Mayet

Zmax.. firstly Human to human transmission has already occured in isolated blocks this year.

secondly in a perfect world it would happen like you said but this is not a perfect world. By the time a pandemic is announced, it will be too late. The pandemic is projected to sweep the world in a matter of weeks. From Index case to millions of deaths may only be a matter of a week or two.

As you can see by the article above it takes two months to produce 200000 doses.

So only a few will receive medication in the scenario your projecting. That is why steps HAVE to be taken now by the Taiwanese if they wish to protect there citizens in the event of a pandemic.

Some times positive action must be taken early and foresight is a handy asset to have.



[edit on 22-10-2005 by Mayet]

As long as remember the "block" was in Hong Kong and it was under regular quarantine,later no sign of the desease was found in the other residents...This because the sick person was living in the big city and working on bird market...All the other sick were farmers in rural areas,so the only quarantined people were from their own family...

And I don't want to teach you logic,but in the article is said they will produce 200 000 doses in 2 months...You and me cannot know how much doses can be produced in Taiwan in 2 months...But I got the point...Maybe The Taiwanease Government will like to pay(and it's Taiwan they have 180 billion dollars in the foreign currency reserve) for the patent to Roche,and produce the drug on their own...It sounds fair to me...Roche cannot keep up with the mass histeria of the World and produce enough drug in zero time...

[edit on 22-10-2005 by ZMax]

[edit on 22-10-2005 by ZMax]

[edit on 22-10-2005 by ZMax]

[edit on 22-10-2005 by ZMax]

Still at that rate it would take 9.8 years so every Taiwanes could have one dose of Tamiflu.


Hardly enough! I hope they beef-up our ability to quickly make and distribute vaccines for unknown diseases.

Yes its hardly enough, but better safe than sorry. Also can Roche supply the planet? To be frank, Roche's reluctance to alllow generic production bit them in the butt much like the RIAA's shutting down Napster. They lost control of it at this point. Instead of being able to controll the supply after the threat has passed, every country that feels this threat will do so.

That being said, I doubt they will dump the drug on the market after. THey will hold it till it expires and then destroy thier stocks