http://www.reuters.com/article/marketsNews/idUSN2327254420090123
Brazil to Object to Dutch Seizure of Generic Drug
Reuters
By Pedro Fonseca and Reese Ewing
Jan 23, 2009
RIO DE JANEIRO, Jan 23 (Reuters) - Brazil said it would file a complaint at the World Trade Organization over the seizure by Dutch authorities of a shipment of a generic high blood pressure drug made in India.Local foreign and health ministries said a company claiming to have intellectual property rights to the arterial hypertension drug losartan in the Netherlands requested customs authorities seize a shipment of a generic version of the drug in transit from India to Brazil, two countries where the patent is not protected.
The Brazilian government can withhold intellectual property rights for a drug if it considers it "in the public interest." Its health-care system provides free drug treatment for certain conditions such as AIDS and high blood pressure.
"The Brazilian government feels that the decision by the Dutch authorities to detain the basic material critical for the public health of a developing country ... a serious step backward on the question of universal access to drugs," said the note released by the Brazilian ministries late Thursday.[SINCE WHEN IS BRAZIL A DEVELOPING COUNTRY??? IT IS AN AGRICULTURAL & ENERGY SUPERPOWER!! AT THE VERY LEAST, IT IS AN EMERGING ECONOMY!! SORRY GUYS. THIS ARGUMENT NO LONGER WORKS!! IT'S TIME TO INVEST IN PUBLIC EDUCATION!]
The statement also said the government would take its complaint to the executive council of the World Trade Organization in Geneva.
High blood pressure is one of the leading causes of death among Brazilians.
[SO MUCH FOR PUBLIC EMERGENCY OR EXIGENT CIRCUMSTANCES OR ANTITRUST ACTIVITY AS AN EXCUSE FOR A 'TAKING'. NOW ALL THAT IS NECESSARY IS THAT THE BRAZILIANS WANT WHAT THE FOREIGN PATENT HOLDERS HAVE!! THIS IS WHAT THEY CALL 'PUBLIC INTEREST'!!]
The cargo of generic losartan that was seized in Rotterdam was sent back to 
India, where it was manufactured by Dr. Reddy's, the ministries' note said. The drug was being imported by Brazil's EMS.[NOW, WHY WOULD THE BRAZILIAN SHIPPER USE ROTTERDAM AS A THIRD COUNTRY TRANSIT POINT BETWEEN INDIA AND BRAZIL??? AND WHY WOULD DR. REDDY'S, WHICH IS ALL-TOO FAMILIAR WITH THE LAW OF PATENTS, WANT TO DO THIS??? ARE THERE ANY TARIFF BENEFITS OR FINANCIAL PAYOFFS?? WHY WOULD THE DUTCH GOVERNMENT INTERVENE ON BEHALF OF FRENCH AND AMERICAN PATENT HOLDERS?? DOES IT HAVE A LEGAL DUTY TO DO SO?? ARE THESE DRUGS PATENTED ALSO IN THE NETHERLANDS?? HOW DID THE PATENT HOLDERS GET WIND OF THE SHIPMENT??]
Losartan is the generic name for the drug Cozaar that was co-developed by Merck & Co and DuPont Co.------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Brazil Protests Seizure of Dr. Reddy’s Drugs in the Netherlands
By Joshua Goodman
Jan. 21 (Bloomberg)
Brazil protested the seizure in the Netherlands of shipments from Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories Ltd., India’s second-biggest drugmaker.
Customs authorities in Rotterdam seized shipments of the generic drug Losartan, used to treat high blood pressure, while in transit to Brazil, the South American nation’s foreign ministry said in a statement.
Authorities were acting on the request of an unnamed [???] company that allegedly has patent rights over the drug in the Netherlands, the foreign ministry said. Losartan can be imported freely in Brazil.
“The decision by Dutch authorities to seize a strategic supply for the public health system of a developing country, exported according to international norms, signals a grave step backward in the universal access to medicines,” the ministry said in the statement.
[BRAZIL IS NOT A DEVELOPING COUNTRY!!]
Officials at the Netherlands embassy in Brazil weren’t immediately available to comment after normal business hours.
The Brazil foreign ministry said the seizure “raises doubts about the commitment of European countries to help people in developing countries gain access to medicines.”
[BRAZIL IS NOT A DEVELOPING COUNTRY!!]
Brazil plans to complain to the World Health Organization in Geneva and possibly to the World Trade Organization.
The drug shipment has been returned to India, the foreign ministry said.
