THAI AIDS COMPULSORY LICENCE

Reuters reports that Thailand is to begin making its own generic version of the AIDs drug Efavirenz under a compulsory licence from June 2007. This has angered the patent-owner, Merck, which has said that it has not been consulted. The company will receive a 0.5% royalty on all sales, which will be made at approximately half the usual selling price. Thailand currently have 580,000 people suffering from HIV/AIDs.

The IPKat says that this could prove an important test for the meaning of the TRIPs national emergencies exception.