Cheap drugs a bitter pill for the West | Mail & Guardian
▻http://mg.co.za/article/2013-03-08-00-cheap-drugs-a-bitter-pill-for-the-west
The Ugandan government faced an easy choice when it decided to start producing its own version of a key malaria treatment, rather than continuing to rely on expensive imports. Since the country began making its own medicine in 2007, Uganda has produced not only anti-malarials, but also antiretrovirals (ARVs) used to treat HIV. The public-private company, Quality Chemicals, plans to roll out more ARVs, anti-malarials and antibiotics in the coming months and years.
The venture, a shining example of African pharmaceutical manufacturing, was made possible in part because Uganda is considered a “least-developed country”. As such, it doesn’t yet have to respect international intellectual property laws (...)
But least-developed countries may be running out of time. They have until July to adopt the agreement’s measures into their own laws and a continued extension for pharmaceutical products until 2016.