My English translation of the article in Le Figaro:
http://sante.lefigaro.fr/actualite/2016/06/13/25089-medecins-monde-lance-campagne-choc-contre-prix-medicaments
Médecins du Monde launches a shock campaign against the price of medicines
Key words: Médecins du Monde, Sovaldi, innovative drugs, generic drugs, pharmaceutical industry
By Thomas Delozier – 13/06/2016
Médecins du Monde’s “The Price of Life” campaign starts today, despite being censured by advertising companies.
“In France, cancer earns 2.4 billion euros per year”… “an outbreak of flu in December gives a year-end bonus” … “with 1 billion euros in profit from hepatitis C, we’re doing very well.” … These shocking and cynical phrases are not lost to Médecines du Monde. In their latest poster campaign, “The Price of Life”, the NGO takes on the very high drug prices charged by the pharmaceutical industry and calls for a petition to be signed.
At stake are the exorbitant prices of drugs which lead to rationing, according to the NGO. Let’s take Sovaldi. Today, this innovative treatment against hepatitis C costs € 40,000 per patient. With about 230,000 people infected by this virus, treating every infected patient would cost more than 9 billion euros. “At these prices, the social security system cannot afford to cover the cost for everyone,” explains Olivier Maguet, who is in charge of the “Medicine Prices and the Health System” campaign, of which “The Price of Life” is a component. He adds “we find ourselves in the same situation as Mozambique or Zambia: we cannot treat people because we don’t have enough money. We have to make people aware of this crazy situation.”
However, don’t expect to see campaign posters for “The Price of Life” in all the metro stations or bus stops. They will be visible only through fly-posters, social networks, and the press. The three companies engaged by Médecins du Monde to advertise “The Price of Life” have refused to do it.
Media Transport justifies its decision in two ways: “there is a risk that the pharmaceutical industry could be negatively concerned by these posters”, and, “the reference to serious diseases could be perceived as offensive by people suffering from those diseases.” JCDecaux shares the second reason and adds “a lack of sources”. These two companies say they must follow the recommendations of the Professional Advertising Regulation Authority (ARPP), which delivers more than 15,000 recommendations annually to the media. The third company, Insert, could not be contacted.
Meanwhile, pharmaceutical companies are denouncing “a deceitful propaganda campaign” from Médecins du Monde and that its slogans “are not only damaging to industry, they are particularly shocking and disrespectful to the millions of people who fight daily against disease.”
Industry is not the main target of the campaign
“This is the first time Médecins du Monde has ever been censured,” said Olivier Maguet. “This clearly shows that we are pressing where it hurts. However, this is quite ironic because we do not mention any drug or laboratory names in the posters. We have nothing against the pharmaceutical industry, we need their medication, and we respect their profit motive. They are not our main target, it is the State! Because the State leaves them to it.”
To alleviate the exorbitant price of Sovaldi, Marisol Touraine last month announced universal access to treatment, and not just critically ill patients. She also promised that the Economic Committee of Health Products (CEPS) was going to negotiate a lower price. Olivier Maguet’s response is that “we welcome the intention, but at the moment these are just promises. The CEPS remains quite opaque and allows little transparency. It’s a shame to follow that route, especially since there is another more radical way: the compulsory licence.”
The compulsory licence, permitted by article L613-615 of national law, allows the creation of a generic from a patented medicine if “it is made available to the public in insufficient quantity or quality or at abnormally high prices”. These conditions make Sovaldi eligible. A compulsory licence greatly reduces a drug’s price while providing royalties to the company that created the product so that it benefits financially.
Why has Marisol Touraine has not chosen this solution? “We asked her two years ago and she still has not replied yet,” regrets Olivier Maguet. “The only response we have is that she considers it to be a ‘weak legal instrument’. This is wrong!” Despite its low use – only a few times since the 1950s – the method is terribly effective. To refuse, a laboratory must engage in a legal battle which is very costly in terms of both money and image.
In 2001, 39 pharmaceutical companies filed a lawsuit against the Government of South Africa when it tried to promote the production of generic AIDS medications. The procedure stopped mid-way, and prices tumbled. “Unfortunately, this legal tool is not known to the general public,” says Olivier Maguet. “With this campaign, we want to go further than the simple status quo. We want to create a public discussion so that this situation might change.”
Diagnosed Jan 2015: GT3, A0+F0/F1. Fatigue + Brain-Fog.
Started Sof+Dac from fixHepC 10-Nov-2015. NO sides.
Pre-Tx: AST 82, ALT 133, Viral Load 1 900 000.
Week4: AST 47, ALT 58. VL < 15 (unquantifiable).
Week12 (EOT): AST 30, ALT 26, VL UND
Week16 (EOT+4): AST 32, ALT 28, GGT 24, VL UND
Week28 (EOT+16): AST 26, ALT 22, GGT 24, VL UND
Ever grateful to Dr James.
Relapsed somewhere after all that... Bummer!
Jan 2018: VL 63 000 (still GT3).
. So there must, surely, be some kind of “natural” transmission mechanism, even if HCV has not “evolved” like malaria has, right?
