As Bangkok’s newly installed government reviews the policy to issue compulsory licenses for several widely used medications, Gretchen Hamel, a spokeswoman for the US Trade Rep says the office is, indeed, taking a close look at Thailand’s actions. The move comes after reports that drugmakers and biotechs have been urging the US Trade Rep to downgrade Thailand’s status.

“We are disappointed that the Thai government has again chosen to suspend patent rights related to certain medications. We will be examining the details of these latest actions. We hope to see a more positive and transparent approach to IPR protection and innovation on the part of the incoming government,” she told us. She declined to say whether any action against Thailand is planned.

UPDATE: However, the US Trade Rep is apparently trying to dampen speculation that a complaint would be brought against Thailand under WTO rules. “Speculation about a WTO case is frankly surprising. Any such consideration would only happen after a thorough review of the consistency of such measures with WTO rules and extensive discussion with the Thai government, neither of which has happened.”

Last year, the US Trade Rep placed Thailand be placed on its Priority Watch list and the recent lobbying effort is focused on having Thailand placed on a list for countries that are deemed to be the worst violators of intellectual property rights, called Priority Foreign Country. That process is under way and won’t be completed until the end of April.

Thailand’s new Public Health Minister, Chaiya Sasomsab, promised to review the policy on compulsory licensing for four cancer drugs over concerns trade relations with the US may be damaged. Although the action taken by his predecessor may not be revoked according to Thai law, Chaiya may simply decide not to take any further action to bypass patents on the meds.

His predecessor, Mongkol na Songkhla, signed four ministerial announcements on Jan. 4 to individually license Taxotere, produced by Sanofi-Aventis, Roche’s Tarceva, and Femara, which is sold by Novartis and Gleevec, which is sold by Novartis. But Mongkol struck a deal with Novartis after the drugmaker agreed to supply Gleevec free to more than 900 patients under a philanthropic program.

The issue is causing a ruckus in Thailand. Last week, the Chamber of Commerce of Thailand worried aloud that the European Union take action that would affect Thai investments and trade with the EU members, because patents on three drugs for which licenses were issued are held by drugmakers based in Europe. At the same time, four patient groups - AIDS Access Foundation, The Thai Network of People Living with HIV/AIDS, The Cancer Club and the Kidney Friend Club - held a press conference to urge Thailand’s new government not to reverse the policy.

Meanwhile, a recent World Trade Organization mission determined that Thailand’s compulsory licensing policy is kosher. Nonetheless, an Indian drugmaker has decided against exporting heart meds to Thailand due to the new Cabinet’s unstable policies over compulsory licensing, which in turn has had a severe impact on more than 30,000 patients nationwide, The Nation reports.