Generic act: By summer, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) hopes to be able to ship the first order for an AIDS drug manufactured under a new Canadian law, known as the Jean Chretien Pledge to Africa Act. The 2004 Act allows for production of generic versions of drugs that are still under patent but are needed to address public health emergencies. The drug, being developed by Apotex Inc., is a fixed dose combination, a one-a-day AIDS antiretroviral that combines 3 patented drugs. It must be approved by Health Canada and then licensed by the patent holders, either voluntarily or through a compulsory licensing process. MSF was one of several organizations that lobbied for the law, but the only one with extensive operations in the field, which is why it placed the first order, explains Rachel Kiddell Monroe, MSF's Access campaign officer. “We are really hoping this order will open the floodgates, says Kiddell Monroe. “People need this drug, it can be a godsend. When the Canadian approval process is complete, the drug will also go to the World Health Organization for pre-qualification approval, which will ease its acceptance into many countries. — Ann Silversides, Toronto
Corruption in health care: Theft, bribery and extortion robs millions of health care dollars each year while deaths are caused by counterfeit drug use, drug-resistant disease and inability to pay bribes, finds the Global Corruption Report 2006. Transparency International (www.transparency.org), the German anticorruption body that released the report, states that each year at least 5% of the US$3 trillion spent on health services worldwide are lost to corruption. In countries such as Ghana, surveys have found that up to 80% of nonsalary funds do not reach health facilities, with most leakage occurring between central government and the district. While in other countries such as Azerbaijan, informal payments from patients to doctors account for more than 80% of total health expenditure. The report also questions other spheres of influence such as pharmaceutical company lobbyists' impact on policy and doctors' decision-making. Measures to prevent corruption are possible: tighter control measures in the UK have saved US$300 million since 1999 by preventing fraud and pricing gambits. — Sally Murray, Ottawa