The new Thai government is now reportedly targeting another 11 drugs for which compulsory licenses will be issued. The country already decided to ‘break’ patents on three drugs - two AIDS treatments and a heart med.

There was no official comment but on Monday, Health Minister Mongkol na Songkhla told Reuters that a ministry panel was studying drugs Thailand needed and could make or buy copies while haggling for best prices of patented versions. He did not name the drugs being studied.

Drugmakers are furious. “This action is completely unprecedented anywhere in the world,” Teera Chakajnarodom, president of the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers’ Association of Thailand, which reps 43 companies. “Far from providing poor patients with the best medicines, the compulsory licence policy might block access to new treatments in Thailand.”

Until now, the US Trade Rep has insisted the US is maintaining a delicate balancing act between acknowledging Thailand’s right to take its actions under WHO rules and its own interest in protecting intellectual property rights of corporations.

But for how long?

[tags]Patents, Thailand[/tags]