Indonesia has joined the ranks of nations across the globe that have said that pharmaceutical patents are keeping the cost of meds so high their people can't afford them. These countries have addressed meds affecting HIV, HepC, cancer & others. What sometimes happens, is that the given country overrides the private patent for government use, thus allowing them to develop & sell an affordable generic version of the medication.
Many pharmaceutical companies are screaming & saying it'll prevent them from developing new medications in the future. What they're not acknowledging is that these nations are doing whatever they can to save their people. To me that's what these leaders should be doing. The lives of their people are more important than some profits to these drug companies.
What's not being address is that this is little more than privateering, a nicer name for government-approved pirating. I support that these countries should do what they can to save their people. However, I also acknowledge the, "I can't afford it," argument is used by many who pirate movies, games, software, etc..., some of which the person might actually need.
I'm not trying to make a pro-piracy argument here. I'm trying to point out the greed of many companies producing a myriad of things around the world has gotten to such a point, that even upstanding countries are having to consider such tactics as piracy, even if they call the maneuver something more legitimate sounding. At some point these corporations are going to have to be put in their place & I think countries, such as Indonesia, are beginning to do just that.
Cya...
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