Argentina: " Flagship For World Drug Patent Piracy"

While the US Trade Representative has already announced decisions onspecial out-of-cycle Special 301 review of the intellectual property practices of four out of six countries, Argentina remains under review. A spokesman for the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America told the Marketletter that none of the four involve issues relating to health.

"To maintain any credibility on the protection of intellectual property, the Administration must name Argentina a Priority Foreign Country," said PhRMA president Alan Holmer. Such a designation means the USA undertaking a special review to determine how to change policy and make recommendations for achieving these changes, all within a short time. The PhRMA said it looks forward in the very near future to an announcement that Argentina is being named a PFC.

The PhRMA says Argentina is the flagship for worldwide pharmaceutical piracy. It has reneged on repeated promises, over seven years, to provide effective patent protection, and on December 18, 1996, its Congress enacted a "woeful" law, No 24,766, that allows pirates to use the proprietary data developed by research-based drug companies at huge expense to establish the safety and efficacy of medicines.