Activists: Abbott's image tarnished - AIDS group says suit is a strong-arm tactic
Activists: Abbott's image tarnished - AIDS group says suit is a strong-arm tactic
By Bruce Japsen
Copyright © 2007, Chicago Tribune
Published June 19, 2007
A leading U.S. AIDS group said Monday that Abbott Laboratories' lawsuit against French activists who shut down the company's Web site in April to protest the pricing of its HIV drug Kaletra will further tarnish the company's image around the world.
A French judge has scheduled an Oct. 26 hearing in Abbott's lawsuit against Act Up-Paris, which was filed in a Paris criminal court May 23, the company confirmed Monday. Abbott said the French group launched a "cyber-attack" on the company's Web site April 26 that thwarted worldwide access for "several hours" on the eve of the company's annual shareholder meeting.
It's the latest scrape North Chicago-based Abbott has had with AIDS groups around the world over a controversial decision earlier this year to withhold drug applications in Thailand. Abbott has continued to reiterate its determination to protect its intellectual property since it became embroiled in a dispute with Thai officials over pricing of Kaletra that led Thailand to say it planned to make generic copies of the medicine that effectively would break Abbott's patent protection.
AIDS groups say the lawsuit against Act Up-Paris takes hardball business tactics to a new level and that the litigation will only serve to damage Abbott's image internationally at a time when drugmakers are already reeling in the court of public opinion.
"Abbott is fully committed to being the poster child of 'Pharma' arrogance," said Michael Weinstein, president of the Los Angeles-based AIDS Healthcare Foundation, the nation's largest AIDS group. "It would be a gross understatement to say that this is David versus Goliath. These strong-arm tactics are not going to succeed in any other way other than to give Abbott another black eye."
In a statement Act-Up Paris posted on its Web site last week the group said Abbott's move was "the first time a drug company has used legal action against us."
"Yet this strategy will force Abbott to justify its criminal decisions, which are depriving [people living with AIDS] in Thailand of the company's new drugs, effectively sentencing them to death."
Earlier this year Thailand said it could not afford the price Abbott charges for Kaletra and planned to use a provision of international trade law that would have allowed it to skirt Kaletra's patent protection and choose other companies to copy the drug.
That move represented a significant challenge to Abbott's patent protections.
Abbott countered by announcing that it would not register any newly developed drugs in Thailand, depriving that country of a new form of Kaletra that, in contrast to the current form, does not require refrigeration.
Although Abbott said it does not have an issue with AIDS groups' rights to protest the Thai decision, the company said Act Up-Paris' actions "were an unlawful interruption of Abbott's business activities," company spokeswoman Jennifer Smoter said Monday. "While our organizations can disagree on various matters, it is important to convey those disagreements in a respectful and appropriate manner."
Abbott said it allowed protests of its Thai decision on company property and allowed several AIDS activists, including a former Thai senator, to speak before shareholders at its meeting.
But Abbott officials said Act Up-Paris' actions were deliberate. The group put a software program up on its Web site that included instructions on how to "take out our Web site and stop our operations," Smoter said.
Abbott said the company's Web site is used by customers and potential customers from around the world. It includes information about company drugs, medical devices and nutritional products.
Act Up-Paris, an affiliate of Act Up, or AIDS Coalition To Unleash Power, is among several AIDS groups around the world that have been protesting Abbott's moves in Thailand, suggesting that withholding the Kaletra that does not require refrigeration is putting patients' health at risk. Given Thailand's hot climate and underdeveloped health-care infrastructure, many people do not have access to Abbott's AIDS drugs, the activists charge.
In response to Thai officials who had concerns about Kaletra's price, Abbott cut the cost to $1,700 a year from $2,200 last fall. Thai officials, however, issued a compulsory license for Kaletra and certain other companies' drugs in January, prompting Abbott's decision to not launch new medicines in that country.
In April Abbott lowered the price of Kaletra to $1,000 a year in Thailand and more than 40 other developing countries.
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bjapsen@tribune.com
By Bruce Japsen
Copyright © 2007, Chicago Tribune
Published June 19, 2007
A leading U.S. AIDS group said Monday that Abbott Laboratories' lawsuit against French activists who shut down the company's Web site in April to protest the pricing of its HIV drug Kaletra will further tarnish the company's image around the world.
A French judge has scheduled an Oct. 26 hearing in Abbott's lawsuit against Act Up-Paris, which was filed in a Paris criminal court May 23, the company confirmed Monday. Abbott said the French group launched a "cyber-attack" on the company's Web site April 26 that thwarted worldwide access for "several hours" on the eve of the company's annual shareholder meeting.
It's the latest scrape North Chicago-based Abbott has had with AIDS groups around the world over a controversial decision earlier this year to withhold drug applications in Thailand. Abbott has continued to reiterate its determination to protect its intellectual property since it became embroiled in a dispute with Thai officials over pricing of Kaletra that led Thailand to say it planned to make generic copies of the medicine that effectively would break Abbott's patent protection.
AIDS groups say the lawsuit against Act Up-Paris takes hardball business tactics to a new level and that the litigation will only serve to damage Abbott's image internationally at a time when drugmakers are already reeling in the court of public opinion.
"Abbott is fully committed to being the poster child of 'Pharma' arrogance," said Michael Weinstein, president of the Los Angeles-based AIDS Healthcare Foundation, the nation's largest AIDS group. "It would be a gross understatement to say that this is David versus Goliath. These strong-arm tactics are not going to succeed in any other way other than to give Abbott another black eye."
In a statement Act-Up Paris posted on its Web site last week the group said Abbott's move was "the first time a drug company has used legal action against us."
"Yet this strategy will force Abbott to justify its criminal decisions, which are depriving [people living with AIDS] in Thailand of the company's new drugs, effectively sentencing them to death."
Earlier this year Thailand said it could not afford the price Abbott charges for Kaletra and planned to use a provision of international trade law that would have allowed it to skirt Kaletra's patent protection and choose other companies to copy the drug.
That move represented a significant challenge to Abbott's patent protections.
Abbott countered by announcing that it would not register any newly developed drugs in Thailand, depriving that country of a new form of Kaletra that, in contrast to the current form, does not require refrigeration.
Although Abbott said it does not have an issue with AIDS groups' rights to protest the Thai decision, the company said Act Up-Paris' actions "were an unlawful interruption of Abbott's business activities," company spokeswoman Jennifer Smoter said Monday. "While our organizations can disagree on various matters, it is important to convey those disagreements in a respectful and appropriate manner."
Abbott said it allowed protests of its Thai decision on company property and allowed several AIDS activists, including a former Thai senator, to speak before shareholders at its meeting.
But Abbott officials said Act Up-Paris' actions were deliberate. The group put a software program up on its Web site that included instructions on how to "take out our Web site and stop our operations," Smoter said.
Abbott said the company's Web site is used by customers and potential customers from around the world. It includes information about company drugs, medical devices and nutritional products.
Act Up-Paris, an affiliate of Act Up, or AIDS Coalition To Unleash Power, is among several AIDS groups around the world that have been protesting Abbott's moves in Thailand, suggesting that withholding the Kaletra that does not require refrigeration is putting patients' health at risk. Given Thailand's hot climate and underdeveloped health-care infrastructure, many people do not have access to Abbott's AIDS drugs, the activists charge.
In response to Thai officials who had concerns about Kaletra's price, Abbott cut the cost to $1,700 a year from $2,200 last fall. Thai officials, however, issued a compulsory license for Kaletra and certain other companies' drugs in January, prompting Abbott's decision to not launch new medicines in that country.
In April Abbott lowered the price of Kaletra to $1,000 a year in Thailand and more than 40 other developing countries.
----------
bjapsen@tribune.com
posted by Carlos T Mock @ 7:40 AM
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