Orrin Hatch, AbbVie & Lobbying The Global Fund

In a world fraught with clashes over medication prices and intellectual property rights, the many efforts to make AIDS drugs accessible to poor nations is inevitably accompanied by considerable politicking. But the intense, behind-the-scenes maneuvering over affordability and compulsory licenses generally does not land on the public radar, especially when it involves a US Senator, a big drugmaker and an influential non-profit. However, an interesting episode concerning Orrin Hatch, the Utah Republican, has surfaced in which he appeared to be carrying water for the US pharmaceutical industry, specifically Abbott Laboratories (ABT), or should we say AbbVie (ABBV), since this newly minted spinoff now houses the AIDS drug portfolio. Two years ago, Hatch wrote former US Secretary of State Clinton to complain about the Global Fund To Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. In his letter, Hatch complained the Global Fund paid more for generic drugs than for brand-name medicines. “It is extremely concerning that US-funded programs, such as the Global Fund, are making inefficient and unnecessarily costly procurement decisions that come with dire consequences… It is unclear how often his occurred, but unfortunately, these actions have likely cost millions of dollars of excessive waste and abuse of the program.” He also criticized efforts by the Global Fund to remind recipients that they have the right to contract the necessary expertise for issuing compulsory licenses t...
Source: Pharmalot - Category: Pharma Commentators Authors: Tags: Uncategorized Abbott Laboratories Abbvie AIDS Bayer Compulsory Licenses Compulsory Licensing Hillary Clinton HIV Malaria Orrin Hatch TB Tuberculosis Source Type: blogs