Por: GTPI

To The Honorable Ministers of the Federal Supreme Court:

The undersigned national and international organizations, specialists and individuals come forth to this Court to request haste in judging Direct Action of Unconstitutionality number 4234 — regarding pipeline patents — for the following reasons:

On November 28th, 2007, the National Pharmacists Federation, representing the Working Group on Intellectual Property of the Brazilian Network for the Integration of Peoples (GTPI/Rebrip in Portuguese), filed a petition at the Attorney General’s Office, alleging the unconstitutionality of articles 230 and 231of the Brazilian Law n.9279/1996 (known as the Industrial Property Law or LPI, in Portuguese), which established in the country the revalidation mechanism for patents knows as pipeline. On April 24th, 2009, the General Attorney presented the Direct Unconstitutionality Act n.4234, questioning the constitutionality of such articles. On 1 December 2010, World AIDS Day, 585 days will have gone by since filing the lawsuit in the Supreme Court (STF), without the case being judged.

The pipeline mechanism is a device which allowed patent requests to be filed for technological fields which were not protected in Brazil at the time — such as medicines, food products, and chemicals — but had been granted a patent in foreign countries, and was nationally revalidated without going through due analytical processes in the national patents office. A total of 1,182 pipeline patent requests were filed, including hundreds for extremely important medicines for public health policies, in sensitive areas such as AIDS, cancer, mental health, among others. The prices charged for medicines are related to patents since they allow laboratories to exclusively explore their products, creating monopoly situations and pushing away their competition. When patent protection period reaches an end, there is a drastic decrease in prices with the entrance of generic versions in the market.

GTPI had identified emblematic cases of medicines protected by pipeline patents. Among absurd stories, the case regarding Glivec®, a medicine used in treating chronic myeloid leukemia (a kind of cancer) calls the most attention. In 2008, Brazil paid US$29,612 per patient/year for the medicine, while there were already generic versions available for US$1,642 — almost 20 times cheaper. Another striking case was regarding a medicine used for treating schizophrenia called Olanzapine. While Brazil was paying around R$1,800 per patient/month, generic Indian companies were selling their product in international markets for about R$30 — 60 times cheaper.

**HIV/AIDS MEDICINES CASE**

Several medicines used in the treatment of HIV/AIDS infection were protected by the pipeline mechanism.
A study identyfies the hypothetical losses caused by the pipeline patents in Brazil, specifically in the purchase of five antiretrovirals (ARVs) (Abacavir, Amprenavir, Efavirenz, Lopinavir/r e Nelfinavir) for the treatment of HIV /AIDS between 2001 and 2007.
Compared to minimum prices for the World Health Organization, Brazil has spent over USD 420 million. In comparison with the minimum prices of Doctors Without Borders, the loss of Brazil reaches USD 519 million.

The Brazilian population and the public health system are unable to buy the generic versions of these — and many other — medicines because they are protected by a pipeline patent, which should not even exist in the first place. The economic damages are immeasurable, but truly inestimable are the lives which were not saved for lack of treatment.

ADI n.4234 is an Act which can save lives. The STF has the opportunity to correct a historic case of injustice and, as the highest authority in the Brazilian judicial system, it may not fail to live up to its responsibility in defending what is most important in a democratic republic: the right to life and to health. Declaring the unconstitutionality of pipeline patents means the correction of an injustice, which has only come to benefit large pharmaceutical laboratories and international biotechnological companies. Even after 14 years have gone by since the gigantic mistake was made by the National Congress, many medicines are still protected by patents, hampering the access of Brazilians to accessible medicines.

Federal Supreme Court, judge the pipeline patents as unconstitutional! The public health system and the Brazilian population may no longer suffer the consequences of this legislative error. STF’s delay in giving an answer is taking away lives!

With hope,

Sincerely,
The Undersigned
 

http://www.petitiononline.com/ADI4234/petition.html