Leaked Memos Suggest U.S. Would Torpedo Peace Plan if Colombia Challenges Big Pharma MonopolyBy Justin Gardner The controversy centers around a leukemia drug called Gleevec, made by Swiss-based Novartis. Prices have increased 10 percent or more every year, causing heavy strain on health care systems in middle-income countries such as Colombia. Novartis, which made $4.7 billion from Gleevec last year, has enjoyed a patent monopoly on the drug for ten years. The patent ended on February 1 in the U.S., but will remain in Colombia until 2018. While a generic version of the life-saving drug already promises to bring prices down in the U.S., Colombia is held hostage by the continuing foreign-based monopoly. The Colombian government announced that it will give Novartis a few weeks to lower the price on Gleevec before it uses compulsory licenses to let companies make generic versions. It proposed a price reduction of less than half the current regulated price, which is still much higher than what generic versions cost. Novartis refused, instead turning to its friends in the U.S. government. Leaked diplomatic letters sent from Colombias Embassy in Washington describe how a staffer with the Senate Finance Committee, which is led by Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, warned of repercussions if Colombia moves forward on approving the cheaper, generic form of a cancer drug In particular, Flrez expressed a worry that this case could jeopardize the approval of the financing of the new initiative Peace Colombia. The initiative could end decades of bloody fighting and aid in efforts to remove land mines in Colombia, which is second only to Afghanistan in land mine fatalities. U.S. lawmakers have no problem breaking patents when it serves their interest, such as the compulsory licensing granted for night vision goggles, most likely to benefit the surveillance state. But when its a matter of life and death in other countries struggling with health care costs, these politicians will show their allegiance to the corporatocracy. As the leaked memos show, American politicians would even abandon the cause of making peace. Naturally, a spokesperson for Sen. Orrin Hatch feigned ignorance, pretending that they cant possibly have any influence over the Peace Colombia initiative. According to Julia Lawless, the Senate Finance Committee has no jurisdiction over the Paz Colombia initiative and it was not discussed. The suggestion that Hatch and his cohorts would not do the bidding of Novartis is absurd, considering the ties to Big Pharmaas reported by the Intercept. Hatch has close ties to the pharmaceutical industry. Pharmaceutical and health product manufacturers form the second-largest pool of donors to his campaigns. The industrys main trade association, the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, spent $750,000 funding an outside nonprofit that backed Hatchs re-election in 2012. The lobbying group also employed Scott Hatch, one of the senators sons, as a lobbyist, while donating to his family charity, the Utah Families Foundation. According to Public Citizen, about a dozen countries have used compulsory licenses, mostly for HIV and cancer treatments. Novartis and its allies in Congress are worried that Colombia might set a precedent for others to challenge patent monopolies. The pressure against Colombia is bogus but its real, said Andrew Goldman, a counsel for Knowledge Ecology International, the Washington-based group that first obtained the embassy memos. We always assume that this kind of intervention is happening behind the scenes but rarely do you get the chance to see it up close. While everyone has a right to profit from their original product, using the power of the State to preserve a monopoly allows corporations to act outside of market forces and charge extraordinary prices, with poorer regions suffering the most. This collusion also lends to the broken system of politics that characterizes Washington, where the thirst for money and power has rendered voting meaningless. Justin Gardner writes for TheFreeThoughtProject.com, where this article first appeared. lt will only be a matter of time when all GMO PRODUCTS, be known as poison around the world. GMO combined with Big Pharma spreading disease to all. The initiative could end decades of bloody fighting and aid in efforts to remove land mines in Colombia, which is second only to Afghanistan in land mine fatalities. uh, there is a second story here. Why in Gods name are we entering a Peace Initiative with Columbia? Did we go to war with them when I was sleeping? Do you really need any more evidence as to just how corrupt and venal members of Congress are? This current matter is just a drop in the bucket of disgusting Congressional behaviour. Ty Bollinger with his The Truth About Cancer Team, made extremely important series of documentaries, with the same title, which show how to heal the cancer, naturally, without toxic chemicals or radiation. There is also a history of how chemo-drugs developed, starting with the war byproducts. There is nothing more detrimental, than putting oneself into hands of an oncologist or any medical doctor, who are not educated about nutrition, digestion, natural methods of healing. With that simple knowledge, about supplementation, vitamins, minerals, raw green veggies, probiotics and enzymes, essential oils and electromagnetic devises, Gleevac Have you noticed . . . .Any one can say any bullshit about any nation or ethnic group but if you mention something about the fkng *b*o*l*s*h*e*v*i*k*s in your comment then you get moderated and most likely get your comment deleted by either selfnews Post or Discus. WTF is going on and who controls the fkng narrative so Intensely? Thank you A.P for re-publishing my comment and apologies for my irritated rant. The Germans were obliterated in WW2 but the very competent German scientific community was actually captured and they really had no other options but to go along to these laboratories of iniquity. About usual for Big Pharma. That lobby also affects medical care. For example, medical practitioners are unwilling to regularly prescribe mild sedatives based on benzodiazepines since the campaign by Big Pharma to discredit them when the patents expired, promoting instead the more expensive and dangerous antidpressants such as the MOAs. 