Thai biodiversity activists warn govt on flu drug patents

Thailand’s Department of Intellectual Property has been asked to show caution in granting patents to foreign companies to make influenza drugs from Thai herbal plans, particularly the famous  fah talai jon.

Witnoon Lianchamroon, Director, Biothai said that the number of number of applications by foreign researchers for patents to extract fah talai jon chemicals has risen dramatically after the Type A H1N1 flu outbreak this year. Biothai is working on biodiversity conservation and is a non-profit organization.

 
Lianchamroon fears that granting patents for herbal medicines or production methods to foreigners would limit opportunities for Thais to make use of fah talai jon.

The Institute of Thai Traditional Medicine says that clinical studies on fah talai jon revealed its effectiveness in easing flu symptoms like sore throat and diarrhea.

Biothai fears that granting patent for the chemical extracts of fah talai jon would be a repetition of the mistake of the plao noi patent incident, in which Japanese pharmaceutical firms patented medicinal extracts and methods of extraction for the local herb.

Lianchamroon said;

"The department must check carefully whether any patent application breaks the international biological diversity treaty and Thailand's 1999 Plant Varieties Protection Act…  Although fah talai jon is not found only in Thailand, countries possessing the precious herb should work together to protect their rights from bio-piracy."

It might be noted that Thailand’s Intellectual Property department has received numerous applications from foreign researchers and firms to patent activities for developing a range of herbal plants including fah talai jon.