Drug companies drop AIDS drugs lawsuit against South Africa.

April 19, 2001 4:41 AM

Drug companies drop AIDS drugs lawsuit against South Africa. Shamed into it, of course. Paid legal costs too. Perhaps a significant precedent?
posted by aflakete (2 comments total)

From NPR: Under the deal, the pharmaceuticals industry acknowledges South Africa's right to enact laws to broaden access to medicines. A spokeswoman for the drug industry says the government agrees to consult companies when it drafts regulations to implement the law. The original article aflakete links to also mentions that the government isn't actually prepared to start importing drugs. so, while, sure, it can be called a victory; it can also be a case of the drug companies realizing that this battle isn't over; and, why ruin their public image when they can simply be on the advisory board?

or, i could just be pessmistic about this.
posted by bliss322 at 6:36 AM on April 19, 2001

And that's how it should be... It's an example of how an ideal free market would work. Companies rely on the public for their profits and if enough of the public gets mad at the company's behavior, more likely than not companies *will* back down to lessen their bad publicity.
posted by gyc at 10:37 PM on April 19, 2001