Africa: MSF concerned about attempts to weaken proposals for cheap drugs

The international NGO Medecines Sans Frontieres (MSF) expressed concern on Thursday that some EU member states are trying to water down proposals by the EC that would allow developing countries to buy essential drugs at prices far below the normal market rate.

The EC proposed in October 2002 a price regulation scheme under which pharmaceutical companies would reduce their prices for essential medicines by at least 80 percent compared with the average prices in countries of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. The reduction would enable developing countries - most of which are African - buy drugs at affordable prices to fight diseases such as malaria, tuberculosis and AIDS, whose present cost is often prohibitive for them.

MSF said that some countries, especially France, had made counter proposals that would weaken the scheme.

"In response to pressure from the [pharmaceutical] companies, the French proposal aims at only a 70 percent reduction in price, as opposed to the 80 percent proposed by the Commission," MSF reported.

MSF representative Ellen't Hoen said it was essential that EU member states strengthened, not weakened, the pricing scheme so that patients in poor countries would have access to essential medicines at affordable prices.

"Pharmaceutical companies are afraid to have limits imposed on their pricing policies for developing countries and the member states of the EU are giving in to this pressure, all under the cover of offering advantageous prices to developing countries," she said.