The country’s National Health Security Office is renewing its threat to issue compulsory licenses on at least three cancer meds if negoiations with drugmakers don’t yield lower prices, The Bangkok Post reports. The drugs that could be affected include Genentech’s Tarceva; Taxotere from Sanofi-Aventis; and Novartis’ Femara. The meds are used to treat various cancers, ranging from tumors, breast and lung cancer.

Thailand’s Public Health Minister, Mongkol Na Songkhla confirmed the government will carefully and thoroughly consider its move to effectively “break the patents” of the cancer med, but stressed the move was necessary if the government wanted to ensure broader access to necessary drugs. “To apply the CL is Thailand’s last resort, unless an agreement has been reached with the pharmaceutical companies to allow poor patients to access to the drugs,” says Mongkol.

Earlier this year, the Public Health Ministry issued compulsory licences for the heart disease drug Plavix, made by Bristol-Myers Squibb and Sanofi-Aventis and Abbott Laboratories’ Kaletra to treat HIV/AIDS. Last November, it overrode the patent for Efivirenz, an AIDS drug made by Merck. The moves caused an international furor, and prompted the US Trade Rep to add Thailand to its Priority Watch list of countries that fail to adequately protect intellectual property rights. Since then, the EU has also warned Bangkok.

Thailand insists it will use CL only as last resort and will do so in strict compliance with provisions of the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights, or TRIPS, under the World Trade Organisation. Another legal basis the Thai government cites is in the state obligation to provide universal healthcare service to Thai citizens under the National Health Insurance Act.

Wichai Chokewiwat, chairman of the Public Health Ministry’s committee on compulsory licensing, says Imatinib, a follow-on to Novartis’ Gleevec, will be exempted under the compulsory licensing plan since the drugmaker agreed to give free access to Thai patients under universal healthcare scheme.