ALIFAR: No Let-Up From US Patent Pressure

US pressure on Latin American countries to modernize their patentlegislation is resulting in unemployment and disindustrialization, says ALIFAR, the pharmaceutical industry association that represents Latin American national companies.

At ALIFAR's annual meeting in Quito, Ecuador, this month (Marketletter July 7) delegates agreed that the threat of trade sanctions on Ecuador, Peru's new intellectual property rights decree and US pressure on some countries to introduce a "pipeline" retroactivity clause are clear signs of the battle continuing between the region's drug firms and those of the USA.

Lobbying activities by the US embassy in Ecuador is an example of this, according to ALIFAR, as is the US Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America's delegation to the Paraguayan government, which is working towards the introduction of new patent legislation. A bill has been drawn up that considers all the PhRMA demands and none of those put forward by the indigenous industry, says ALIFAR.