Hundreds of Thais with HIV protested outside the Bangkok office of drugmaker GlaxoSmithKlein, to demand that the British pharmaceutical firm drop its effort to patent a key AIDS drug in Thailand.
The company introduced the drug Combid to Thailand four years ago, but the Government Pharmaceutical Organization (GPO) produces its own generic version at one-fifth the price, or about 40 dollars for one course of treatment.
The drug combines existing medications into a single pill, which makes it easier for patients to comply with their treatment programs.
The activists from the AIDS Access Foundation argue that the medication does not merit a patent because combining existing drugs does not constitute a new invention.
They say Britain rejected a patent on similar grounds.
The activists fear that if the patent is granted, Thailand will no longer be able to produce the generic version, which would threaten treatment for tens of thousands of people.
"This will have disastrous consequences for the government's ambitious treatment program." said Achara Eksaengsri, deputy director for research and development of the GPO.
Of the 600,000 Thais with HIV, about 80,000 are receiving treatment. Some 18,000 new cases were reported last year.
Thailand's treatment program has been widely credited with slashing the number of deaths from AIDS by about 75 percent last year.
