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Roche Must Share Its Avian Flu Cure

By David Morris, AlterNet. Posted November 3, 2005.


If ever there was a time for government to step in and restrain unbridled corporate greed for the social good, this is it.
Roche Must Share Its Avian Flu Cure
Credit:
REUTERS/Kham Kham
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Next to the Department of Commerce building in Washington, D.C. stands a powerful statue that speaks of a time when America believed in government. A naked man, arms outstretched and muscles bulging, tries to restrain a powerful, writhing horse. The statue evokes the extraordinary power of entrepreneurial energy and corporate greed. But it also reminds us that unbridled greed is socially destructive.

Today the statue goes unnoticed. Visitors who do stop by probably wonder why the Department of Commerce is home to an equestrian statue. (Or perhaps they are simply dismayed at the sight of a bigger-than-life naked man in George W. Bush's Washington.) In contemporary America, the statue's message is so out of place as to be virtually incomprehensible.

All of which brings me to the avian flu. If ever there was a time for government to step in and restrain unbridled corporate greed for the social good, this is it. A consensus exists on the basic facts:

  • The H5N1 flu strain has infected more than 100 people worldwide. About half of infected people die.
  • The disease is currently transmitted from birds to humans. Migratory birds have spread the disease from Asia to Romania, Turkey, Greece and parts of Russia. It is expected to arrive soon in the Middle East and Africa.
  • Scientists have recently discovered that the 1918 influenza pandemic -- which killed more than 50 million people worldwide -- originated in birds and then mutated to where it could be transmitted from humans. It is expected the H5N1 flu virus will experience such a mutation at some point, which could lead to a very rapid spread of the disease.
  • The only currently available cure for avian flu is a drug called Tamiflu. Roche, the giant Swiss pharmaceutical company, owns the patent. The company concedes it will be several years before it can produce sufficient amounts to deal with the looming crisis. But it refuses to allow other companies to add to the productive capacity.

One would think that with such a clear and present danger to their populations, governments would quickly require Roche to license the drug's production. One would be wrong. Bush's plan to combat the flu, unveiled this week, recognizes the looming danger, but then simply asks Congress for billions to pay Roche for any drugs the company might make available. The plan lacks a critical element: a way to accelerate production of the drug.

A threat from several members of Congress to do just this prompted Roche, on Oct. 25, to reluctantly agree to open talks with four generic firms to discuss allowing them to manufacture the drug. It is unclear when or even if these talks will result in increased production. Moreover, generic firms are in the business of encapsulating existing medicines. It is unclear whether they have the capacity to make new medicines, especially given the complexity of manufacturing Tamiflu.

One Indian company has already said it will soon be manufacturing Tamiflu without a Roche license. But because it lacks the license it will not be able to export the medicine to the United States. Recently, Australian health officials argued that the country has the moral responsibility to begin mass production of Tamiflu, with or without Roche's permission.


Digg!

David Morris is co-founder and vice president of the Institute for Local Self Reliance in Minneapolis, Minnnesota and director of its New Rules project.

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Reactionary and wrong
Posted by: NthnBrazil on Nov 3, 2005 2:43 AM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
I can appreciate the temptation to focus on the links between corporate interest and the GOP powers that be, but this article misses the point entirely. What's going on here is a nationwide panic being spread in order to get people to buy into non-effective, potentially dangerous flu shots. Tamiflu absolutely is NOT a "cure for avian flu" as the last bullet suggests. All readers of this site need to educate themselves about the risks of flu shots and realize that the "Big-Pharma" consipracy here is about legitamizing flu vaccinations and potentially introducing legislation to force us all to vaccinate

SENATE BILL 1873 BANS DRUG & VACCINE DAMAGE CLAIMS

The Flu Shot Scam

The Flu Season Campaign Begins

Bird Flu Hype

Evidence that bird flu is already resistant to Tamiflu

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

» Some additional sources Posted by: NthnBrazil
Define - irony
Posted by: Colin on Nov 3, 2005 3:34 AM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Watching George Bush, poster child for the creationist/intelligent design generation, talking about waiting for the bird-flu virus to mutate.

Maybe he thinks it will arrive via Fed-Ex.

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

» RE: Define - irony Posted by: Pepper
» RE: Define - irony Posted by: crusty
This author is being bambozzled!
Posted by: Pepper on Nov 3, 2005 6:00 AM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
I applaud her efforts, but she is off track. The 1918 flu was not caused by the mutation. It was caused BY THE VACCINES THAT WERE HANDED OUT IN MASS WHICH IS WHAT KILLED MILLIONS. In addition, she is assuming as many who wish to ignore the facts, that this gov gives one rats ass about the people, which they do not. They wish to kill us and have no compunction as 9-11 showed us.

All this latest legislation is for the purposes of putting the new dictatorship in place legally by stripping away all of our protections and making it a crime if we fight back. That is what is going on. Mass vaccines will result in civil war as many will refuse to accept vaccination including myself. They will have a real problem on their hands if they don't get the guns first.

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

» RE: This author is being bambozzled! Posted by: kungfoofighterx
» The 1918 Flu Posted by: AdamSelene11726
FEAR, CONSUMPTION, & TRANSFER OF PUBLIC $ TO PRIVATE SECTOR
Posted by: danjkelly2 on Nov 3, 2005 6:27 AM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
This so-called "pandemic" has killed LESS THAN 100 PEOPLE IN THE ENTIRE WORLD, AND NO ONE IN THE US. I'm all for nipping a problem in the bud, but this just can't be taken seriously as anything other than another campaign of fear force-fed upon an unscrutinizing public. Oh, and it allows the government to earmark 7.1 billion dollars of taxpayer money to go towards "fighting" this potential outbreak...the majority of which will end up in the hands of private corporations. Once again, the taxpayers maintain a welfare state for the rich.

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

Editors, please remove this article!
Posted by: room34 on Nov 3, 2005 6:46 AM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
I haven't even read the whole article yet, but its alarmist and flagrantly FALSE headline severely undermines AlterNet's credibility.

As another poster mentioned earlier, Tamiflu absolutely is NOT a "cure" for avian flu. There's no evidence that it will even be effective in the slightest against this particular virus.

There is plenty to be concerned about as the government and media do their best to spread undue panic over this as yet non-existent pandemic, but Roche's corporate greed is, for now, not high on the list.

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Tommyboy says
Posted by: tommyboy on Nov 3, 2005 6:52 AM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Either this author is uninformed, stupid or a shill for the Elite in this country. Since an American company Gilead originally manufactured Tamiflu, the knowledge to make it is already known in this country. Ol Don Rumsfeld and his boyz are going to make a killing off their stake in Gilead and Roche.

The Western world is in a race to exterminate the Asian masses. Asians are in a race to beat the West to the punch. The world cannot support the present population, nevermind a growing one. The criminals in the west have decided to wipe out the African population first and then Asians. Do not be amazed that multiple forms of new "Flu" strains sprout up in the next 20 years. Both sides are testing and refining their Bio weapons.

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Tamiflu isn't a cure
Posted by: Guah on Nov 3, 2005 7:16 AM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Whoa this article is a bit off. Tamiflu is not a cure for avian flu it is a neuraminidase inhibitor and neuraminidase is a viral protein which:
-helps the virus pass through the GI tract walls
-helps the viruse to bud from the hose cell after infection

Tamiflu isn't a cure for the virus what it results in is (sometimes) a milder or shorter flu and that is far from this cure everyone assumes it is. This worry over tamiflu is just panic in my opinion.

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You guys make good points about Tamiflu not being a "cure", but...
Posted by: ABetterFuture on Nov 3, 2005 8:10 AM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
...it doesn't matter. The agenda here is to further the ability of the GUBBAMINT to loot companies, espeically those involved in energy and health research, thereby forcing those companies to close. Then, in the absence of profitable reserach, lifespans will regress, and the Socialisto's overarching goals of population control/primitivism for the masses will be reasserted. After all, making us all dirt poor peasants who spin tales by firelight and die early from rheumatic fever and polio is the best way to ensure absolute equality in society at large! (with the obvious exception for our benevolent GUBBAMINT caretakers) Go somewhere more PROGRESSIVE if you can't get in lock-step with the Socialisto's. Geez people.

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Easy money for big pharma!
Posted by: Smiggsy on Nov 3, 2005 8:13 AM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Not specifically on the bird-flu topic.... but I was once told by a friend with a Phd in pharmacology that the best way to avoid ever getting the flu was by maintaining your own immune system & using your smarts. He added that once you take a flu shot your immunity is instantly compromised. You then need to rely on taking flu shots forever or be at risk (unless your lifestyle demands taking the risks). Easy money for big pharma - scaremongering.

Live in constant good health (exercise, eat well & avoid stress, etc) & don't put yourself in any high-risk contageous situations. Prevention (as always) is the best cure - Though I don't know how this would apply in a reactive situation in the case of a global outbreak of a deadly virus.

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Panic for Profit?
Posted by: Andie927 on Nov 3, 2005 8:52 AM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
I HAVE been and continue to be confused. Why are the media hyping this story? There has not been a single case, after several years of knowing about this particular bird-flu strain, of human to human transmition! Why should it NOW suddenly JUMP? Or will it be helped?

I read in Under the Rader the other day that Rumsfeld owns substatial stock in Roch, and is in a position to make a fortune off this "panic", does anyone know the validity of this story?

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

» RE: Panic for Profit? Posted by: heftysmurf
» RE: Panic for Profit? Posted by: Pepper
» RE: Pepper where did you read that? Posted by: AngryWhiteFemale
» RE: Panic for Profit? Posted by: Antero C
A possible (conspiracy theory) explanation:
Posted by: AdamSelene11726 on Nov 3, 2005 9:49 AM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Bird Flu isn't all that credible a threat ... it's along the lines of the "Airborn/Casual Contact HIV mutation" we were afraid of back in 1987 ... Bad science ... but emotionally compelling.

And if the threat WERE credible, there's be a diplomatic crash program to innoculate South Asian poultry workers with the human protecting vaccine ... if not the poultry protecting one which has also existed for several years.

However what if the fear isn't the Avian Flu in the Vietnamese poultry yards, but the 1918 Spanish Influenza in American biological warfare laboratories?

It's no secret, the bug exists, and responds to Tamiflu.
cut and paste:
http://discuss.agonist.org/yabbse/index.php?
board=6;action=display;threadid=20498
as one line

If you don't trust a single blog entry ... though this on has pretty good provenence ... try a google of your own on [1918 +"spanish influenza" +"avian flu" +reconsitituted +"department of defense" +"tamifu" ... you'll find plenty more.

The point is: the bug exists, and the army has it. Now,as the "Biological Warfare" unit of Freshman ROTC class teaches -- a useful biological weapon needs two components. There has to be a practical way of infecting the enemy ... and there has to be a way of protecting your own forces and possibly your home front.

If the Administration's plan goes forward ... both conditions will be met within a matter of months.

Imagine how useful against the Insurgency in central Iraq.

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» Conspiracy. Posted by: ABetterFuture
» H5N1 Posted by: AdamSelene11726
» Significance of Tamiflu Posted by: AdamSelene11726
» con't Posted by: ABetterFuture
Applause for bird flu skeptics!!
Posted by: emptyground on Nov 3, 2005 4:32 PM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
I applaud you well-informed Alternetters for commenting on the bird-flu fear-mongering scam and for recognizing the equation:
vaccines=danger to your health + profits for Big Pharm.

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

Vaccine opponents -- remember polio, smallpox, etc.
Posted by: jcabraham on Nov 3, 2005 5:30 PM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
People opposed to vaccines are scary. Although there are inevitably some who will in fact develop the disease they are being vaccinated against (because most vaccines against viral diseases use killed or weakened virus), vaccination is one of the greatest boons which science has bequeathed to civilization. Remember polio, smallpox, measles, mumps, diphtheria? Thank god we don't have to live in fear of them anymore. Tamiflu, however, is not a vaccine, but simply an antiviral drug. Better we should spend time on a vaccine. Gotta run.

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Whether or not we are on the verge of an epidemic, patent laws must be reformed!
Posted by: qrswave on Nov 3, 2005 7:39 PM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
It is PATENTLY absurd to allow patent holders to unilaterally refuse to license their patented technologies while claiming that this unfettered right to exclusivity is essential to "promote the progress of science."

Under our current system, an inventor who is granted a patent on an improvement of another inventor's patented technology is prohibited from commercializing his patented improvement if the holder of the underlying patent refuses to license it!!!

HOW, may I ask, does that "promote the progress of science" as required by the US Constitution?!!

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Jackie Steincamp
Posted by: steincam on Nov 3, 2005 8:21 PM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
One of the more arcane aspects of Tamiflu is that it was originally developed by Gilead Sciences (see their website). The war against Avian Flu is being fought largely by this ten-year old anti-viral drug. And who is the chairman of Gilead Sciences? None other but Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld!
All is fair in love and war - and business, especially when it is that of the U.S. Is there any requirement for members of the Administration to declare their investments? Should there be?

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» RE: Jackie Steincamp Posted by: stonemason
» Ouch! Posted by: AdamSelene11726
» RE: Ouch! Posted by: Pepper
» RE: Jackie Steincamp Posted by: SumDood
» RE: Jackie Steincamp Posted by: Antero C