Treatment Action Campaign (TAC) Press Release: November 19, 2000

Medicines Control Council Must Grant a Section 21 Exemption for Generic
Fluconazole

TAC has learnt that Pfizer and other drug companies are pressurising the MCC
not to grant TAC a section 21 exemption for fluconazole. The Medicines
Control Council (MCC) is meeting on Friday 24 November to consider the
Treatment Action Campaign’s (TAC) application for a Section 21 exemption on
generic fluconazole. TAC demands that the MCC grant the Section 21
exemption. The MCC has been given documentation which demonstrates that
Biozole, the generic medication imported by TAC from Thailand, is a
high-quality generic equivalent to Diflucan, the fluconazole distributed in
South Africa under patent by US drug company Pfizer.

Demonstrations

TAC will stage pickets in Cape Town and Pretoria outside the MCC offices
during this week in order to encourage the MCC to grant TAC's Section 21
exemption and to highlight the issues surrounding the Christopher Moraka
Defiance Campaign. The Cape Town picket will take place on Wednesday 22
November at 12:30 outside Groote Schuur Hospital, where the Cape Town MCC
office is based. The picket will assemble on Main Road outside the
hospital. The Pretoria picket will take place outside the MCC offices on
Friday 24 November at 12:00. The picket will assemble on the corner of
Proes and Andries streets. For details on the Cape Town picket call Vicci
at 083 773 1330. For details on the Pretoria picket call Pholokgolo at 082
641 8242. A memorandum will be presented to the MCC at each picket. TAC is
concerned that the MCC has so far refused to give anyone the
responsibility of accepting the memorandum at the Cape Town picket.

TAC Has Been Reasonable and Patient

On 17 October, TAC announced that some of its members had imported generic
fluconazole from Thailand.  Dr. Helen Rees of the MCC has laid charges
against TAC and against Zackie Achmat, its chairperson.  The SAPS is
investigating.  TAC applied for a Section 21 exemption in order to
distribute the fluconazole via the Brooklyn Medical Centre on a
patient-name basis. The imported fluconazole has been handed over to the
Department of Health for safe-keeping in the meanwhile. TAC gave the MCC
two weeks to process the Section 21 application before more generic
fluconazole was imported. On Friday, the MCC will have missed this
deadline by three weeks. But TAC has waited patiently. There is a cost to
our patience, however. Everyday that the Section 21 is delayed and we
refrain from continuing to import fluconazole, people die or suffer
unnecessarily.

We will not wait indefinitely.

Patient Rights Before Patent Rights!