Bangkok Post : Warning on patents for flu drugs

H1N1

Biodiversity advocates are warning the Department of Intellectual Property to step carefully in granting patents to foreign firms to make flu drugs from Thai herbal plants, especially the well-known fah talai jon.

The number of patent applications to extract fah talai jon chemical substances by foreign researchers had risen dramatically after the outbreak of type A (H1N1) flu earlier this year, said Witoon Lianchamroon, director of Biothai, a non-profit organisation working on biodiversity conservation.

The Institute of Thai Traditional Medicine says clinical studies on fah talai jon show it is effective in easing flu symptoms such as sore throat and diarrhoea.

Mr Witoon said granting patents for herbal medicines or production methods to foreigners would limit chances for Thais to make use of the medicinal plant.

Patenting the chemical extract of fah talai jon would only repeat the mistake of the plao noi incident, in which Japanese pharmaceutical firms patented medicinal ingredients and methods of extraction for the herb.

"The department must check carefully whether any patent application breaks the international biological diversity treaty and Thailand's 1999 Plant Varieties Protection Act," he said.

"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."

The Intellectual Property Department said it had received a number of applications from abroad to patent activities for developing herbal plants, including fah talai jon, red onion, ginger, plai and ya nguang chang (Indian Heliotrope).

Supaporn Pitiporn, head of pharmacy at Chaophaya Abhaibhubejhr Hospital in Prachin Buri, which is famous for developing herbal medicines, said it was difficult for Thai researchers to get patents because of their limited knowledge.