On December 1st., World AIDS Day, the Brazilian Federal Prosecuting Authority together with non governmental organizations that are part of the Working Group on Intellectual Property of the Brazilian Network for the Integration of Peoples-GTPI/REBRIP (Conectas-Direitos Humanos, ABIA- Associação Brasileira Interdisciplinar de AIDS, GIV- Grupo de Incentivo a Vida, Grupo Pela Vidda /São Paulo, IDEC, GAPA/SP e Gestos) will submit a public civil action to the Federal Justice against the Ministry of Health with the objective to obtain the compulsory licensing for Lopinavir/Ritonavir (Kaletra), used by AIDS patients and distributed by the Brazilian Ministry of Health. The announcement will be made in Brasília during a press conference with the presence of the State Prosecutor, Peterson Pereira, NGO representatives, senators and deputies that are members of the parliament front for the fight against AIDS.

The action will suspend the laboratory Abbott’s monopoly, that detains the patent for the production of the medication and, allow for its´ national generic production and a substantial reduction in costs. During 2005, Kaletra alone was responsible for about 30% of the total budget for medications of the National STD/AIDS Programme of the Ministry of Health. For the proponents of the civil action, the treatment component of the program is under threat if the government fails to take action to bring the cost of newer AIDS medicines down and it will severely affect the National AIDS Programme’s sustainability for providing universal access to treatment for the 170 thousand AIDS patients in the country. It will also affect the effectiveness of the Brazilian Public Health System (Sistema Único de Saúde-SUS) as other services could be provided or improved with the financial resources saved with the production of the generic drugs.

The agreement reached by the Ministry of Health and the Abbott Laboratory 2 months ago does not attend to the best of public interest since the government took all the preparatory steps to issue a compulsory license on Kaletra but in the end agreed on a fixed price of about 1.380US$ per year per patient for a fixed period of 6 years, without any possibility of production of generics or price decrease.

Compulsory licensing is permitted by the Brazilian legislation and by the TRIPS international agreement, and insuring proper but not abusive payment of property rights to the patent holder. The civil action received support from the National Health Council, legislators, national and international non-governmental organizations the State Prosecuting Authorities. Civil Society in general and the organized non-governmental groups expect for the Judicial Authorities to guarantee the right to health and of access to medications as determined by the Brazilian and international legislation, in this special World AIDS Day.

Press Conference
Date: December1º
Place: Ministério Público Federal - SGAS 604, Lote 23 - Setor de Grandes
Áreas Sul - Brasília - DF
Time: 14hrs

Source: Associação Brasileira Interdisciplinar de Aids (ABIA) Email: abiads@abiaids.org.br (21) 22231040 / (21) 9114 1838 (Renata Reis)

Conectas Direitos Humanos: (11) 9516-8710 (Eloísa). E-mail: eloisa.machado@conectas.org

Ministério Público Federal - Gabinete Peterson: (61) 99703372 (Lidiane). E-mail: lidianem@prdf.mpf.gov.br

Grupo Pela Vidda/SP: (11) 9944-9560 (Mário Scheffer). E-mail: mscheffer@uol.com.br