Press Alert

OXFAM / TREATMENT ACCESS CAMPAIGN

17 July 2001

Pfizer: The industry leader in pricing drugs beyond the reach of
the poor in developing countries?

The policies and practices of pharmaceutical giant Pfizer regarding
access to medicines by the world's poor will be discussed at a joint 
briefing by Oxfam and the Treatment Action Campaign (TAC) on Thursday
19 July at 10:30 at the:
AIDS Consortium, 4th Floor, Auckland House East Wing, Cnr Smith
and Biccard Streets, Braamfontein, Johannesburg.

All members of the press are invited.

Oxfam will launch  a new report "Formula for Fairness: patient rights
before patent rights". It shows how Pfizer, by aggressively enforcing
its patents in poor countries, is pricing life-saving drugs beyond the
reach of millions of poor people

The Treatment Access Campaign will give an update on its Defiance
Campaign, which involves the importation and distribution of a generic
version of fluconazole, an antifungal medicine patented by Pfizer, 
key  in the treatment of several AIDS-related opportunistic infections.

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For interviews and further information contact:

Mark Heywood at TAC Johannesburg (011) 717 8600 or 083634
8806 or heywoodm@law.wits.ac.uk

Mercedes Sayagues at Oxfam Pretoria (012) 362 2098
or msayagues@oxfam.org.uk

For background information on TAC's defiance campaign, go to
www.tac.org.za.

For background information on Oxfam's Cut the Cost campaign go to 
www.oxfam.org.uk The report will be available at the briefing and
on the Oxfam website.