Canadian firm generic drugs maker Apotex produced 15.6 million Apo-TriAvir tablets for Rwanda. The first shipment of 6.8 million pills arrived September last year, while the second shipment of 8.8 million tablets arrived a year later.
Apo-TriAvir combines three different HIV/AIDS medications into a single dosage, which administrators of ARVs say makes it much more convenient. The company was also planning to start making pediatric formula for children in form of syrups.
However, the single Rwanda-Apotex contract has expired, and the firm has indicated it will not make any more pills because of the complicated system governing the program. It is the reason why campaigners and some lawmakers want Canada’s Access to Medicines Regime (CAMR) reformed.
The process to review this law has been painstakingly slow, campaigners say, and they have decided to take the issue to the Canadian people.
Asked about proposed legislative changes to CAMR, eight in ten Canadians (80 percent) said they support the changes, according to the poll commissioned by three major groups. Only 9 percent opposed the proposed changes.
The national poll was conducted by opinion research firm Pollara for UNICEF Canada, the Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network and the Canadian Crossroads International.
When asked which guiding principle should be most important when administering CAMR, nine out of ten Canadians (91 percent) say the guiding principle of CAMR should be “ensuring a simplified process that allows for quick sale and delivery” of generic medicines to developing countries, as opposed to “protecting the patents of brand-name drug companies,” which only 9 percent of Canadians support as the guiding principle.
“Canadians want their government to do the right thing and pass Bill C-393,” said Mr. Richard Elliott, Executive Director of the Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network, in a statement to RNA.
“The children of the developing world have waited long enough for Canada to fulfill its promise. Now is the time to act.”
HIV/AIDS patients in Rwanda have universal access to ARVs through the roughly 400 ARV sites located across the country. By the end of September, there will be roughly 74,000 people taking ARVs. The Apo-TriAvir pills are said to have been enough to treat about 20,000 patients over a year.
The new poll comes as Canadian Members of Parliament are scheduled to begin debate on second reading for Bill C-393 — a private member’s bill to amend CAMR — on November 27, with a vote to be held on December 2.
The new bill (Bill C-393) would replace the inefficient and ineffective system, argue campaigners, with a “one licence” solution. This means that generic drug companies would need to obtain only a single licence authorizing them to export to any of the eligible developing countries who wish to purchase the medicine.
“Parliament has an opportunity to pass a bill that can be a win for everyone,” said Elliott.
“It’s a win for patients in the developing world who need medicines, a win for Canadian generic companies that can supply those medicines, a win for brand-name companies that would get royalties and a win for Canada’s international reputation — all at no cost to Canadian taxpayers. But we have to act now.”