Thai Public Health Minister Mongkol Na is scheduled to travel to the U.S. on May 5 to sign an agreement with the Clinton Foundation on obtaining cheaper drugs. He would again travel to the U.S. later this month to explain Thailand's decision to Congress and other public and private agencies.
AFP quotes Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont as saying, "We still defend what we have done, and we can explain our action to other countries as well the world community."
Thailand has announced compulsory licensing for three drugs, including the AIDS drugs Kaletra produced by Abbott Laboratories and Efavirenz by Merck and Co, both of which are U.S.-based companies. The country has also ordered a much cheaper generic version of Efavirenz from India to help 20,000 people with AIDS.
The U.S. has however blamed Thailand for lacking "transparency" in announcing the compulsory licenses as it says Thailand failed to consult with the drug producers.
However, the officers from Thailand's Food and Drug Administration have replied back saying the country is not obliged to inform the drug manufacturers.
The Thai FDA also added that the country had tried in vain for two years to convince them to reduce their prices and said the country break its patent because its intellectual property rights were not honored.
Though the company later agreed to sell AIDS drugs at a lower price in exchange for the lifting of the compulsory licensing but the matter landed Thailand on the U.S. "Priority Watch List" of nations.
The list curtails all countries where American companies face particular problems with the protection of intellectual property rights. It could also land Thailand to face trade sanctions if violations worsen.
