OTTAWA, May 13 (AFP) - Canada on Thursday became the first rich nation to pass pioneering legislation designed to funnel cheap generic drugs to sufferers of HIV/AIDS and other killer diseases in the developing world.
The Senate upper house of parliament endorsed a bill already cleared by the House of Commons, as it forced through a backlog of legislation before a general election expected late next month.
Parliament acted a day after Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin sat down in a voter-friendly meeting with Irish rocker Bono, who crusades to get generic drugs to Africa, where the HIV/AIDS pandemic is scything through populations.
The U2 frontman, referring to a World Trade Organisation agreement, said: "Everybody agreed to do that back in August. But Canada is the first to act."
The bill amends Canada's patent laws to allow the government to override patents to allow some drugs firms to produce and export generic products, including anti-retrovirals.
Despite changes to the bill, some leading international aid groups still criticized the legislation as being too friendly to commercial pharmaceutical giants.
They say the bill's impact could be muted as it limits the number of drugs concerned to 56, the bulk of which are used to treat HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria.
There are also doubts whether Canada's generic drugs industry will be able to produce medicines at a low enough cost to make a real difference in Africa and other AIDS hotspots.
The WTO deal last August was spurred by the terrible carnage wreaked by AIDS across Africa, and other developing areas of the world.
Even though 70 percent of the world's AIDS victims die in Africa, according to the continent's health ministers on Thursday, few sufferers can afford drugs that can keep the disease at bay.
Global pharmaceutical giants have been on the defensive for years, trying to protect their intellectual property rights on AIDS drugs they developed.
But in April 2001, 39 of the sector's top firms bowed to heavy pressure and dropped a court bid to stop South Africa importing cheap versions of their AIDS drugs.
Martin had made the generic drugs bill a top priority, and it was seen as one of his final hurdles to clear before calling an election -- a move that will end the current session of parliament and kill pending legislation.
Canada's new legislation on the issue will formally become law when it receives royal assent, probably on Friday, a Senate aide said.
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