Zimbabwe slams drug companies

Zimbabwe's Health Minister Timothy Stamps has slammed western pharmaceutical producers of AIDS suppressants over the sheer cost of drugs and patents rights claims. In an interview with AFP, he criticised some US manufacturers of AIDS suppressants for blocking Brazil from exporting one product to other countries because of patent rights. Stamps said Brazil has been able to produce an equivalent of AZT (Zidovudine), which limits mother-to-child transmission, for a 100th of the current costs. "What is more important patent rights or patients' rights? It's a moral disgrace," Stamps said.