Sponsorship of federal drug bill might not help Africa

Bill C-393 will help generic drug companies do international business but might not be able to compete

With decades of experience, Dr. Allan Ronald, a senior scientific advisor at the International Centre for Infectious Diseases, knows that allowing Canada to ship generic drugs to developing countries doesn’t ensure the country will be competitive on a global scale. Jonah O’Neil

A Feb. 2 vote in the Canadian House of Commons saw the passing of sponsorship for controversial Bill C-393, which would give developing countries better access to Canadian generic drugs.

Bill C-393 tries to amend issues with Canada’s Access to Medicine Regime (CAMR) that delays the access of generic drugs to developing countries, especially those that suffer from the HIV/AIDS epidemic.

The controversy began when the original sponsor of the bill, Judy Wasylycia-Leis, stepped down as a Member of Parliament (MP) to run for mayor of Winnipeg.

Since all bills need a sponsor as they go through debate in the House of Commons, a vote had to take place to change the sponsorship.

Richard Elliott, executive director of the Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network, was worried about the bill dying on this small technicality.

His organization, which advocates for human rights for those living with HIV/AIDS, has been at the forefront of trying to make this bill a reality.

“We got the Liberals and the Bloc to commit that none of their MPs would block the request for transferring it to a new sponsor, but we could not get any response from the Conservatives,” said Elliott. “And one or more Conservative MPs basically gave us the indication that it was going to die on this technical issue.”

Linda Watson, the co-founder of Grands ‘n’ More, a Winnipeg advocacy group that increases awareness about the plight of grandmothers in Sub-Saharan Africa, was one of the people who met with Wasylycia-Leis and proposed that she sponsor the bill.

The issue is: can you make drugs as cheaply in Canada as you can in India? The answer, in my opinion, is no.

Allan Ronald, senior scientific advisor, International Centre for Infectious Diseases

“An important thing that the grandmothers have contributed to this campaign for the bill is that we have hounded MPs from all parties,” said Watson. “(We) tried to make them see from our humanitarian viewpoint that that is how this bill should be regarded – (as) a humanitarian concern.”

Since the original law was enacted in 2004, only one company, Apotex, has used the legislation to export any drugs to developing countries.

According to both Watson and Elliot, the company has used it only once because the CAMR restrictions were too cumbersome and time-consuming.

Allan Ronald, a senior scientific advisor at the International Centre for Infectious Diseases, has been at the forefront of HIV/AIDS while studying infectious diseases in Africa for over 30 years.

He believes that even if this bill is passed, it does not mean that Canadian generic drug manufacturers will be able to compete on an international level.

“The issue is: can you make drugs as cheaply in Canada as you can in India?” said Ronald. “The answer, in my opinion, is no.”

After years of research in Africa, specifically in Uganda, Ronald has seen first hand how the epidemic has affected people.

Desperate to get the necessary drugs in the hands of those that needed them, Ronald said it was a relief when India “manufactured the drugs regardless of patent and sold them at a price that was affordable.”

“Some people say that Canada has an obligation to make these drugs available,” said Ronald. “I say just give the money to the Global Fund (to fight AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria) and let (them) disperse it to the country ... then you buy the best drugs possible for as cheaply as possible.”

Elliott believes that the Canadian generic drug companies could compete if they had the volume of sales, which is what this bill is about.

“By basically doing bulk purchasing you make it possible for a generic manufacturer in Canada to achieve economies of scale,” said Elliott. “(Then) they’ll be able to cut off the prices of the medicine and offer even better prices to developing countries.”

Published in Volume 65, Number 19 of The Uniter (February 10, 2011)

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