Indonesia: Compulsory licenses

Indonesia issued compulsory licenses for two HIV medicines - Glaxo’s Lamivudine [Epivir (R)] and Boehringer Ingelheim’s Nevirapine [Viramune (R)] - in 2004.

In March 2007, another ARV drug Efavirenz [Stocrin (R)] was bought within the ambit of compulsory licenses. The license is for government use only, and includes a royalty rate of 0.5% of the net selling value.

The Indonesian government is now considering three more drugs:
Gilead’s Tenofovir Disoproxil fumarate [Viread (R)],
Bristol-Myers Squibb’s Didanosine [Videx (R)] and
Abbott’s Lopinavir + Ritonavir combination [Kaletra (R)].

The above three second-line antiretroviral (ARV) drugs for HIV/AIDS patients are in need in Indonesia, and current funding for them could dry up soon, according to Samsuridjal Djauzi, a physician who is involved in the government’s compulsory licensing activities. He also said that his working group is now collecting data about the three drugs in order to make proposals to the health minister, who will make the decision.