April 17, 2001
Charles A. Heimbold, Jr.
Sent Via Facsimile Transmission to (212) 546-4020 and Via U.S. Mail
Dear Mr. Heimbold,
Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), together with
250,000 individuals and organizations from over 130 countries around the world that
signed a global petition, urges Bristol-Myers Squibb to immediately withdraw from the
lawsuit against the South African government over its Medicines and Related
Substances Control Amendment Act (Act 90 of 1997). From Nairobi and Dakar to
Bolivia and the U.S., from Madrid and Bangkok to France and Senegal, people
have been declaring their condemnation of Merck's role in blocking South Africa's
efforts to gain access to life-saving medicines for its people.
The court case, which re-opens tomorrow in Pretoria, continues to outrage
concerned citizens and political leaders around the world. As you may be
aware, in the six weeks that the court postponed the case to allow the
Pharmaceutical Manufacturer's Association to provide evidence defending their high
prices, 30,000 more people have died of AIDS-related causes in South Africa, the
vast majority of whom did not have access to life-saving medicines. This is
simply indefensible.
We call on you to heed the calls made by Director General of the World
Health Organization Gro Harlem Brundtland; U.S. Congresswoman Maxine Waters; the
626 members of the European Parliament; and dozens of other political leaders to
support rather than impede South Africa's efforts to improve access to
essential medicines. We demand that you withdraw immediately and unconditionally
from the lawsuit, and further ask that you publicly commit to refraining from any
further actions that jeopardize access to medicines in the developing world.
We trust that you will not ignore this plea made by hundreds of thousands
around the world. We look forward to receiving your response.
Sincerely,
Nicolas de Torrente
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
Bristol-Myers Squibb Company
345 Park Avenue
New York, New York 10154-0037
Executive Director