“Information has emerged that US Ambassador to the World Trade Organization, Michael Punke, met with representatives of 15 LDCs last Friday in Geneva, where he noted that the US could not agree to an indefinite exemption due to pressure from some US stakeholders who are upset with the US government’s intellectual property concessions on the recently-completed Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement.”

And there, in one sentence, is pure, feral corporate greed applying pressure on it’s government for all to see. ick:' />

Gilead’s APIs are made in Jordan. The tablets are made in Ireland.

Jordan.

I think our hepatology doctors should be told that they are prescribing drugs made in a third world country.

hi,
Hope everyone is feeling well today,
I read this last night & thought it was relevant to this discussion, it’s about big pharma, pricing, global access to HCV meds by Els Torreele, the Director of Access to Medicines, Public Health Program, Open Society Foundations.

Really worth reading & exploring the whole blog, a lot of good links in the body of that article, also If you would like to contribute a guest post on that blog, there is a contact details there.

from the blog:
“The unaffordability of medicines is no longer just a problem for poor people in developing countries—it is a global public health emergency. Excessive prices stand between North American and European patients and life-saving treatments. Strained health budgets lead states and insurers to delay or ration expensive medicines and increase out-of-pocket expenses. To get the drugs they need, patients must suffer serious “financial toxicity,” as cancer doctor Leonard Saltz poignantly puts it, or forego treatment altogether.
”

this is part 1:
http://blogs.plos.org/yoursay/2015/10/13/talking-about-drug-prices-access-to-medicines/

part 2 is written by a Jessica Wapner, a freelance US science writer, activist, blogger, most enjoyable reading.
Here she explains how the big pharma works out their drug pricing strategy, like how do you get from $101 – the real cost of tx with Sofo to $50000 or more depending in which country you happened to live :

http://blogs.plos.org/yoursay/2015/10/15/talking-about-drug-prices-access-to-medicines-this-blog-post-will-cost-you/

Jolie wrote: part 2 is written by a Jessica Wapner, a freelance US science writer, activist, blogger, most enjoyable reading.

blogs.plos.org/yoursay/2015/10/15/talkin…-post-will-cost-you/

Thanks Jolie, clever and funny article, worth a read.

Based on my recent own experience, no shipping companies in Bangladesh allowed to ship medicines. My contact inquired DHL and EMS, no one can do it. Well, my destination is China, so yours might be different.

I thought we can now order Twinvir through buyers club.