- © 2004 Canadian Medical Association or its licensors
The federal Liberals under Prime Minister Paul Martin have promised to reintroduce legislation amending the Patent Act to allow cheaper production of HIV/AIDS drugs for developing countries, as well as a bill to regulate reproductive technology.
Spokespersons for Martin and Health Minister Pierre Pettigrew say Bill C-56, which will amend the Patent Act, is “priority” legislation. The amendments would allow generic drug companies to export patented drugs to developing countries that are unable to manufacture their own and can't afford to buy brand-name anti-retroviral drugs. The bill died on the order paper when the fall session of Parliament adjourned.
“I'm sure that will go ahead, that's very important legislation for Martin,” said Pettigrew's press secretary, Adele Blanchard. Once reintroduced, the amendments will be discussed by the all-party Industry Committee.
The executive director of Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) Canada says he was assured Martin backs the bill and is open to hearing about flaws in the proposed legislation (CMAJ 2003;169 [12]: 1257). “Our sense [is] that they want to do it right,” says David Morley.
MSF objects to provisions giving brand-name companies 2 chances to match the prices offered by generic drug companies. Morley says this will discourage generic companies from bidding, thus driving prices up.
Under the plan, the cost of antiretroviral drugs will drop from about US$200 per patient annually to US$70.
This legislation will set a precedent among developed countries, Morley adds. “European countries are watching to see how Canada structures the bill.”
By contrast, Canada is one of the few Western nations yet to pass legislation regulating assisted human reproduction, including cloning and stem-cell research. Bill C-13, which passed through the House but died on the order paper when Parliament prerogued, prohibits the sale and purchase of eggs, sperm and embryos, and bans reproductive cloning, sex selection and the commercialization of human reproduction.
Reintroducing Bill C-13 is a “priority,” though Pettigrew is not sure when that will happen, says Sébastien Théberge, Pettigrew's director of communications. When it is reintroduced, Bill C-13 would go back to the Senate and begin again there at first reading.
Given that more than a decade has passed since a royal commission urgently recommended this regulation, the executive director of the Infertility Network calls the delays “exasperating.”
“We support the legislation,” says spokesperson Diane Allen. “It's not perfect — no legislation ever will be ... but we need to have something in place.” — Laura Eggertson, Ottawa