GROUP DECRIES ABBOTT'S ACTIONS IN THAILAND

The AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF), which provides free antiretroviral (ARV) drugs through its clinics in India, China and Cambodia, has denounced Abbott Laboratories' decision to withdraw its applications for new HIV drugs in Thailand.

The company's decision to stop launching new drugs in Thailand came after the government recently issued a compulsory license for Abbott's ARV drug Kaletra (lopinavir/ritonavir), AHF said. According to the group, World Trade Organization regulations allow governments to issue compulsory licenses without consulting the foreign patent owner if the country deems it necessary.

AHF President Michael Weinstein calls Abbott's move "a new low." After Thailand issued the compulsory license for Kaletra earlier this year, Abbott said it would consider lowering the cost of the drug, but it would still be more expensive than a generic version, according to AHF.

The group predicts that Abbott will withdraw its Thai application for the new heat-stable version of Kaletra, which would have eliminated the need for cold storage.

In a similar situation late last year, Thailand issued a compulsory license for efavirenz, an HIV drug made by Merck, which the company protested, offering instead to lower the drug's price.