BRAZIL COULD IMPORT COPIES OF MULTINATIONALS' ARVS

Brazilian health officials have claimed that if the government fails to secure a deal on the compulsory licensing of patented ARVs, it may allow copies of the products in question to be imported. The move would depend on the willingness of three US drug firms to lower prices of patented products supplied under the country's HIV/AIDS treatment programme.

The new health minister, Saraiva Felipe, has stated that the government will earmark BRL1bn (US$410mn) of government purchases of all types of drugs for imports -- equal to roughly a third of all official pharmaceutical spending. Meanwhile, the ministry has not clarified whether plans for import substitution will affect Abbott Laboratories' ARV Kaletra. Negotiations are currently reported to be ongoing, with no end in sight before at least 2006.