March 16, 200719 yr "MSF condemns US drugmaker's ban in Thailand - The Nation Aid charity Medecins sans Frontieres (MSF) has condemned a US drugmaker's decision not to sell new medicines in Thailand, which is at loggerheads with Western pharmaceutical giants over generic drugs. Chicago-based Abbott Laboratories said this week it would not market new drugs in Thailand in protest at the government's decision to override the patent on Abbott's anti-Aids drug Kaletra. The medications withdrawn from the Thai market include a new version of Kaletra, as well as an antibiotic and a painkiller, a senior company official said. MSF (Doctors without Borders) slammed the US giant's decision and argued Thai patients would "bear the brunt of Abbott's harsh decision." "Our patients in Thailand, who still use the old version of the medicine, have been waiting for this new version for a very long time," David Wilson of MSF in Thailand said in a statement. "The drug was registered in the US in October 2005, but still cannot be used in Thailand and many other countries where it is desperately needed. Refusing to sell the drug here is a major betrayal to patients," he said. Abbott, for its part, accused Thailand of breaking patents "on numerous medicines." Agence FrancePresse The Nation I very much doubt the MDF would describe themselves as an Aid charity - theri brief seems to be much wider.
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