The pharmaceutical industry faces
tremendous opportunities associated with extraordinary scientific and
technological progress. With these opportunities come great challenges created
by the growing expectations of patients, healthcare providers, and governments
for accessible, cost effective medicines as quickly as possible.
We have a strong commitment to partnerships involving everyone in
healthcare. Our core philosophy is competitive superiority and shareholder
value. It is through those strengths that we believe Millennium
Pharmaceuticals will continue to provide longer, healthier lives through
pharmaceuticals.
The pharmaceutical
industry has made tremendous strides in providing assistance to fight the
HIV/AIDS pandemic in Africa. In the past two years the major pharmaceutical
firms in the United States and across the world have made major commitments to
funding, providing research, medicines, and outreach to nations in Africa.
I
called this meeting to get your input:
-
How
much can Millennium Pharmaceuticals provide to help African countries
cope?
We’re not a giant like Merck.
-
Secondly,
what kind of program should we support:
-
Provision
of drugs alone, and if so how much?
-
Training
programs?
Where and how many at what cost?
-
Should
we train, distribute and treat?
-
Third,
what countries should be our targets?
What rationale should we use in choosing countries.
Last,
there is a policy issue that I’d like your advice.
Lanjouw, at Yale, has put forward a two-tier proposal for patent
protection.
Corporations decide whether they want protection in the developed
world, or in the Third World.
It gets protection in the tier of choice, and then permits lower priced
copy-cat drugs in the other.
We
don't have patents on our medications in most African states--it is too
expensive.
It is my understanding that Treasury likes it, and that the Trade
Office doesn’t.
Do we have a strong preference?
If so, we will instruct our lobbyists to begin their work.
