Industry committee  That is part of the problem. The other issue has been that in India they have not faced patents, so they were able to go ahead and make a product. And again, you've heard the difficulties that Apotex had in getting through the regulatory and legal requirements in Canada. They don't have any of those issues in India.

Industry committee  I would agree 100%; I think it is important that the legislation operate. Again, I would say the brand-name companies do not need this legislation. If they want to donate medicines, they can do so now without this legislation. This legislation is intended to generate competition, because it has been shown time and again that new prices come down when an Indian generic company or someone else has the product and is ready to offer it to a government.

Industry committee  As Mr. Kay mentioned, Apotex has already poured $2 million into a pilot project. If this project works well, I'm confident other companies will be ready to move forward with the legislation.

Industry committee  I think you're absolutely right, Mr. Shipley. India has been called the pharmacy for the poor world because it didn't have patents. Starting in 2005, it now does have patents. If in the future we find, as Jack said, that India and Indian companies are not able to produce these products at low prices and make them available, the Canadian legislation will become very important.

Industry committee  Yes. We are very disappointed.

Industry committee  I think where you find the generic companies developing those products are mainly in the developing world, where they have more access, unfortunately, to the illnesses and more ability to carry out the clinical trials, etc. It's simply not that practical here to carry out clinical trials on a number of those products.

Industry committee  We've had several discussions with the Clinton Foundation and, as Jack has said, Doctors Without Borders, identifying the patented products that might be of interest to them. With respect to the non-patented products, as Jack mentioned earlier, he's now shipping to over 100 countries products that are off patent, but for the patented products, yes, we've had discussions with them.

Industry committee  You had two questions. The first was about dealing with the Bush administration and others. Again, this legislation has nothing to do with generic companies providing medicines abroad that are not covered by patent. This legislation has nothing to do with brand-name companies providing their products, whether it's philanthropically or for sale, abroad.

Industry committee  The other reason why countries don't want to self-identify is they become a lightning rod for political attention and negative attention from the brand-name pharmaceutical industry. Recently in Thailand, with a drug called Aluvia, an anti-AIDS medicine, the Thai government said it was going to issue a compulsory licence to import the product from India.

Industry committee  To respond quickly, the tax changes I think are great. I think for donations, philanthropy, it will increase the incentives for companies to do that. I would agree with Mr. Williams that we need a comprehensive approach. That's why we're saying changes to this legislation are necessary, because right now we're talking about patent medicines; we can't make those, even with tax advantages, unless this legislation works properly.

Industry committee  Clearly, it is the generic companies, and not the large multinationals, that need this act. The legislation refers to patented medicines. The changes that we have proposed need to be made in order to make the act more effective. The existing act is overly complex and negotiations must be conducted with patented drug companies.

Industry committee  We would rather see the list abolished, but in actual fact, that's not what is most important. However, the list is an example of a superfluous provision. Anytime we want to add new products to the list, it requires a great deal of work on the part of government officials, companies and just about everyone.

Industry committee  Thank you, Mr. Chairman, committee members, for having me here today. My name is Jim Keon and I'm the President of the Canadian Generic Pharmaceutical Association, the representative body for generic pharmaceutical companies in Canada. With me is Jack Kay, the President of Apotex, the largest generic pharmaceutical company in Canada.

Health committee  That is not the job of generic drug companies.

Health committee  Generic drug companies are of value to the health care system in that after patents expire we provide products at much lower prices.