By Jason Derry --
The public health ministry in Thailand has officially
announced that it will permit Thailand's public drug maker, the Government Pharmaceutical
Organization, to manufacture a generic version of Merck's AIDS drug, Efavirenz,
for a 5 year period. The compulsory
license was made by the acting Thai military government, who declared a
"national emergency" in accordance with World Trade Organization
requirements relating to government issued compulsory licenses. According to News Target.com, Merck will receive a 0.5% royalty on
sales of the generic drug. The decision
is not without controversy,
as Merck criticized the Thai government's failure to contact Merck before
announcing the intent to issue the license.
Jason Derry, Ph.D., who graduated with honors from DePaul University
College of Law, is a molecular biologist and founding author of Patent Docs.
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