No one is suggesting such a move, at least not yet. But the rhetoric over the controversy between the Thai military government and big pharma is getting pretty hot.

A conservative group, USA for Innovation, has been issuing press releases all week urging the White House and Congress to get tough with Bangkok. The group’s founder and executive director is Ken Adelman, a current member of the Defense Policy Board, which advises the US Defense Secretary. He’s also a senior counselor at Edelman Public Relations, whose clients include Abbott Labs, which intensified the row with Thailand by threatening to withhold new meds from the country after a compulsory license was issued for its Kaletra AIDS drug.

Today, USA for Innovation took its message to the public, particularly investors, and paid for a full-page ad in The Wall Sreet Journal imploring Washington to “take retaliatory action in the form of trade or economic sanctions or the removal of military aid.”

Haggling is never easy and posturing is part of the game. So far, though, Abbott doesn’t have much to show for its hard-line stance. Of course, the flap is nowhere near its end, and Abbott may yet gain something from playing hardball. The drugmaker has that right. On the other hand, all this public saber rattling appears a wee bit inflammatory, given that the US Trade Rep has acknowledged Thailand hasn’t violated world trade rules.

So Ken, even if sanctions are issued, what happens if that doesn’t work? Will you ask Johnny to get his gun?

Here’s the press release with the full text of the ad;
A list of the group’s press releases;
A little something about Ken Adelman;
A snapshot of Edelman PR.[tags]Abbott Laboratories, Compulsory Licensing, Generics, Innovation For USA, Kaletria, Patents, Thailand[/tags]