December 19, 2000
Mr G G Brereton
Dear Sir,
CIPLA seeks to sell products for the treatment of HIV and related
illnesses, including those containing lamivudine and zidovudine. You
have contacted CIPLA in the past asserting intellectual property rights
in such products in certain countries. As you know, the high prices
for HIV/AIDS medicines have made it impossible for millions of persons
in developing countries to obtain access to medicines, contributing to
widespread suffering and death. CIPLA seeks to provide a competitive
product, with the expectation that competition will drive prices down,
benefitting patients and saving lives. To this end, CIPLA requests a
timely response to the following items:
Depending upon the nature of Glaxowellcome's property rights in the each
country, CIPLA is willing to pay royalties as high as 5 percent of net
sales, for example, in countries where Glaxowellcome has patents similar
to those granted in the United States or the UK. (In countries where
Glaxowellcome has substantially lesser intellectual property claims, for
example, in countries where Glaxowellcome did not file for a "use"
patent for AZT, CIPLA would negotiate an appropriate royalty that
reflects the value of the IPR in the product.)
According to a February 2000 submission to the United States Trade
Representative (USTR) by the US trade group PhRMA, five percent is the
"approximate the average pharmaceutical royalty rate," and given the
human tragedy unfolding the developing countries over the lack of access
to medicines for HIV AIDS, the "average" royalty is surely adequate for
the world's poor.
Given the urgency of the public health crisis, we ask for a response to
this request by January 25, 2000.
Yours sincerely,
Amar Lulla
Head of Patents
Global Intellectual Property Department
GlaxoWellcome
Glaxo Wellcome House
Berkeley Avenue, Middlesex, UB6 ONN
United Kingdom
For Cipla Limited
Director