Pétition : Demande de licence obligatoire pour le Kaletra par la Colombie
Publié le 23 juillet 2008 sur OSIBouaké.org
Pétition anglophone, afin d’aider la Colombie à obtenir la licence obligatoire pour le Kaletra (lopinavir/ritonavir). Proposition de lettre au gouvernement de M. Uribe.
Sign-on letter : Colombia compulsory license request for l/r (Kaletra) - Robert Weissman
Dear Colleagues,
On July 16, Colombian NGOs filed requests for an open compulsory license on AIDS drug lopinavir/ritonavir with the Colombian government. An open license would permit generic competition with Abbott’s patented product Kaletra. Generic lopinavir/ritonavir is available in many countries at prices significantly less than half what Abbott charges Colombia’s public health sector (and five times less what Abbott charges Colombia’s private sector). An open license would save patients and health programs money and facilitate access to an important AIDS medicine.
The health NGOs’ compulsory license request comes more than three months after the same groups requested an open license directly from Abbott Laboratories. To date, Abbott has not responded to the groups’ request.
More information is available here :
Essential Action is collecting signatures in support of the license request. If you would like to sign on, please send your organization’s name (or your name and organizational affiliation, if any, if you would like to sign on as an individual), your mailing address and email address to
Thank you, Peter Maybarduk Essential Action peter.maybarduk@essentialinformation.org Skype : petesystem
Doctor ALVARO URIBE VELEZ PRESIDENTE DE LA REPUBLICA DE COLOMBIA E. S. D.
Doctor GUSTAVO VALBUENA QUIÑONES SUPERINTENDENTE DE INDUSTRIA Y COMERCIO E. S. D.
cc : Doctor DIEGO PALACIO BETANCOURT MINISTRO DE LA PROTECCION SOCIAL E. S. D.
We are organizations from around the world concerned about providing treatment to people with HIV/AIDS, ensuring all people have access to needed medicines, and promoting public health. We write in support of the July 16, 2008 Colombian civil society request for issuance of a compulsory license on the medicine lopinavir/ritonavir (Kaletra),(1) [FN1 : The request was filed by the HIV/AIDS Working Group (Mesa de Organizaciones con trabajo en VIH /SIDA ), RECOLVIH Colombian Network of Persons Living with HIV/AIDS (Red Colombiana de personas viviendo con el VIH ), Foundation IFARMA-Health Action Internacional, and Mission Health (Fundación Misión Salud)]
Under the World Trade Organization’s Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property (TRIPS) and Andean Community Decision 486, Colombia is free to issue compulsory licenses to advance public interest objectives. The WTO’s Doha Declaration on the TRIPS Agreement and Public Health "affirm[s] that the [TRIPS] Agreement can and should be interpreted and implemented in a manner supportive of WTO members’ right to protect public health and, in particular, to promote access to medicines for all."
Issuing a compulsory license in this case will help promote access to medicines for all. Lopinavir/ritonavir is a key medicine in the treatment of HIV/AIDS. The high price charged by Abbott, the patent holder for this medicine, constitutes a barrier to access and hinders efforts to make antiretroviral treatment available in Colombia to all who need it.
A compulsory license for lopinavir/ritonavir in Colombia would allow the state to obtain and offer imported generics, as well as permit the local production of lopinavir/ritonavir. The result could be greater product availability for patients, robust competition, and savings for the state, which could be directed to other public needs.
Thank you for this opportunity to comment. We urge that you give all due consideration to this license request.