Forums | MacLife

Piglet?

Oh, I'm sorry, this isn't the word relation thread.

I dunno. DDT maybe? Could explain Steve's freak pancreatic cancer.

Metacell wrote:

Human lives are more imprtant than money, at least to me.  I'm sure some feel differently.

Excellent, I'm sure the people will be happy to take all your donations to purchase them the medication.

The profits, obviously!

ShnickyShnack wrote:

I'd still love an explanation for why we should care more about a corporation's profits than we should actual flesh-and-blood human beings.

Because if it wasnt for the company, there would be no aids drug.

ShnickyShnack wrote:

Steyr AUG wrote:

ShnickyShnack wrote:

I'd still love an explanation for why we should care more about a corporation's profits than we should actual flesh-and-blood human beings.

Because if it wasnt for the company, there would be no aids drug.

False dilemma. No one's talking about crashing the company. Just MAYBE cutting into their profits a wee bit -- and even that hasn't been proven.

If brazil really wants to have cheap aids drugs for their citizens they can subsidize it themselves, breaking patents sets a bad precedent.

ShnickyShnack wrote:

Steyr AUG wrote:

ShnickyShnack wrote:

False dilemma. No one's talking about crashing the company. Just MAYBE cutting into their profits a wee bit -- and even that hasn't been proven.

If brazil really wants to have cheap aids drugs for their citizens they can subsidize it themselves, breaking patents sets a bad precedent.

Can Brazil afford that?

So, again ... it's more important to preserve (and expand) a corporation's profits than preserve human life.

No its more important to preserve the incentive for future drugs to be developed instead of busting peoples patents.

If their citzens need help its up to brazil to get them the help legally.

Last edited by Steyr AUG (2005-06-26 2:00 pm)

ShnickyShnack wrote:

Steyr AUG wrote:

ShnickyShnack wrote:

Can Brazil afford that?

So, again ... it's more important to preserve (and expand) a corporation's profits than preserve human life.

No its more important to preserve the incentive for future drugs to be developed instead of busting peoples patents.

If their citzens need help its up to brazil to get them the help legally.

It's legal in Brazil.

And would you care to prove that this will seriously harm development of new drugs? With actual numbers?

I already gave you as much numbers as you can get without paying for a Tuft's research report on the matter. Frankly you arent worth the money to buy the report. Sorry.

bedstuy wrote:

All they're doing is asking for voluntary permission to make generics, and if that's not allowed they will make it compulsory.  They'll still be paying the drug company royalties.  Previously the threat of making it compulsory was all that was needed to obtain lower prices.

Thats like putting a peice against someones head and saying "I would like for you to donate your wallet, otherwise I'll make it compulsory."

Do you have a point?  What they're doing still seems legal, and in fact under Brazilian law it's OBLIGATORY that they do it.

sourceToday, the unit price of Kaletra is US$1.17 in contrast to its price of US$1.60 in 2002, and US$0.72 for its generic version. However, in this period, the government costs for the purchase of the medication have gone up from US$35.2 million to $91.6 million annually. This is due to the fact that the number of patients who need the medication in Brazil has increased threefold per year. In 2002, there were 3,200 people who needed it. This year, there will be 23,400.

The Ministry of Health's initiative is backed by national and international norms and respects the rights of private companies to make a profit from their inventions. Article 71 of Brazilian patent law (Law 9.279/96) provides for obligatory licensing in the case of public interest. Decrees 3201 of 1999, and 4830 of 2003, also consider those items related to public health to be of public interest.

ShnickyShnack wrote:

Farmerkev wrote:

Metacell wrote:

Human lives are more imprtant than money, at least to me.  I'm sure some feel differently.

Excellent, I'm sure the people will be happy to take all your donations to purchase them the medication.

Which still helps the company in question boost profits.

Are those profits more important than human lives? If you had to choose to focus on one, which would it be?

My choice is voluntary action. You need to understand I see this totally differently than money v omg11!! lives. I see this as lives v lives. The proponents of this change the proposition of "as long as you're not hurting another" into "we decided that you must actively help another". If they decided that they want to provide that help themselves, more power to them.

bedstuy wrote:

Steyr AUG wrote:

bedstuy wrote:

Do you have a point?  What they're doing still seems legal, and in fact under Brazilian law it's OBLIGATORY that they do it.

Just because brazilian law says its ok to break patents doesnt mean its a good idea for future drug developments.

Like I said, do you have a point?  These Brazilians probably wouldn't be taking Kaletra otherwise.

Its like... you havent even read the thread.

zdecker wrote:

Personally, I think GE should buy protease inhibitors and provide them to Brazil.  Afterall, GE seems much more focused on profits than saving human lives.  Their earnings last year were $16.8 billion.  That is a huge, obscene amount of PURE profit.  And human lives certainly are more important than money. 
GE could decide on their own where to purchase the drugs from (Abbott, GlaxoSmithKline, Merck, Pfizer, etc.) using whatever determination they see fit.

Its easier and more efficient just to vacate the drug patent I think.