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Article: Patent busting: getting up Big Pharma's nose in order to save lives.(CORPORATE POWER)
- Article from:
- New Internationalist
- Article date:
- July 1, 2007
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2007 New Internationalist Magazine. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Until he was appointed Minister of Public Health last October, Mongkol na Songkla was known among sections of Thailand's medical community for his work among the poor. He had spent over 10 years as a doctor healing patients in the country's remote north and northeast provinces, where poverty abounds. And this experience informs the way he has approached his new job, as a defiant champion for sick people. His mission: to secure affordable generic drugs for patients desperately in need of treatment for HIV/AIDS and heart disease.
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By May, the success of his drive was winning praise across the world. His list of admirers included ...