Japan's MHW Fires AIDS Panel Chief
The Japanese Ministry of Health and Welfare has sacked Akira Nakajima,chairman of a government AIDS panel, for saying that providing AIDS patients with free medical care is a waste of taxpayers' money. AIDS and HIVpositive patients face strong discrimination in Japan. Dr Nakajima, speaking at a meeting attended by AIDS sufferers, referred to "throwing money into the garbage."
In March 1996, the Japanese government and five drug firms settled a suit by 118 victims of contaminated blood products by paying 45 million yen ($380,025). Hundreds of victims did not join the suit fearing discrimination, and the MHW's attitude to hemophiliac AIDS victims is now under question by their lawyers.
This article is accessible to registered users, to continue reading please register for free. A free trial will give you access to exclusive features, interviews, round-ups and commentary from the sharpest minds in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology space for a week. If you are already a registered user please login. If your trial has come to an end, you can subscribe here.
Login to your accountTry before you buy
Free
7 day trial access
- All the news that moves the needle in pharma and biotech
- Exclusive features, podcasts, interviews, data analyses and commentary from our global network of life sciences reporters.
- Receive The Pharma Letter daily news bulletin, free forever.
Become a subscriber
£820
Or £77 per month
- Unfettered access to industry-leading news, commentary and analysis in pharma and biotech.
- Updates from clinical trials, conferences, M&A, licensing, financing, regulation, patents & legal, executive appointments, commercial strategy and financial results.
- Daily roundup of key events in pharma and biotech.
- Monthly in-depth briefings on Boardroom appointments and M&A news.
- Choose from a cost-effective annual package or a flexible monthly subscription
The Pharma Letter is an extremely useful and valuable Life Sciences service that brings together a daily update on performance people and products. It’s part of the key information for keeping me informed
Chairman, Sanofi Aventis UK
Today's issue
Company Spotlight
Copyright © The Pharma Letter 2025 | Headless Content Management with Blaze