Following on from previous www.pl.net articles about the AIDS catastrophe in Africa and the Pharmaceutical Industry's offensive against cheaper non-trademark drugs to Africa is this news on the court case attempting to stop a South African law which would enable the SA govt to import cheap drugs for treating aids. This petition is by Medecin Sans Frontieres, a respected doctor-run aid group. If you want to register your opposition to the Pharmaceutical industry on this issue, please go to www.msf.org/petition and sign the online petition. Below is a copy of Médecins Sans Frontières' global petition calling on 39 pharmaceutical companies to immediately and unconditionally withdraw their "patent" case against the South African government. Below the petition are the names of the 39 pharmaceutical companies involved. Please read this entire email and go to the website noted above and type in your name. It will just take a moment and it may save many lives. Doctors without Frontiers is a wonderful group and the patent and pricing policies of the pharmaceutical companies are costing hundreds of thousands of lives. Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) asks you to support South Africa's efforts to make essential medicines more accessible to its people by signing the global petition below by April 15.

We, the undersigned, support the South African government's efforts to make essential medicines more affordable and accessible to its people through the medicines act passed in 1997. Therefore, we call on the 39 pharmaceutical companies that are blocking implementation of this legislation with a lawsuit to withdraw immediately from the case. With over four million already infected with HIV, South Africa has the highest number of people living with HIV/AIDS in the world. Very few can afford the treatment that has extended and improved the lives of people in richer countries.

Since 1998, the pharmaceutical industry has blocked the medicines legislation, claiming it would infringe on their patent rights. During that period, 400,000 South Africans have died of AIDS-related causes. High prices are effectively denying medicines to poor patients, condemning them to a premature death.

We call on the 39 pharmaceutical companies to withdraw immediately and unconditionally from this case. And we call on governments to support the people of South Africa by also urging the companies to drop their case.

Sign the Drop the Case petition

MSF will send your signature * to the 39 pharmaceutical companies and to governments to send a clear message that protecting lives should come before protecting patents.

*Only your name and country of residence will be sent to companies and governments. MSF will not release your email address publicly. The 39 pharmaceutical companies in the South African court case webplaced: March 9, 2001. A complete list of the 39 pharmaceutical companies suing the South African government to prevent the distribution of essential medications under South African law.

The Pharmaceutical Manufacturers' Association of South Africa Alcon Laboratories (S.A.) (Proprietary) Limited Bayer (Proprietary) Limited Bristol-Myers Squibb (Proprietary) Limited Byk Madaus (Proprietary) Limited Eli Lilly (South Africa) (Proprietary) Limited Glaxo Wellcome (South Africa) (Proprietary) Limited Hoechst Marion Roussel Limited Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals (Proprietary) Limited Janssen-Cilag Pharmaceutica (Proprietary) Limited Knoll Pharmaceuticals South Africa (Proprietary) Limited Lundbeck South Africa (Proprietary) Limited Merck (Proprietary) Limited MSD (Proprietary) Limited Novartis South Africa (Proprietary) Limited Novo Nordisk (Proprietary) Limited Pharmacia & Upjohn (Proprietary) Limited Rhone-Poulenc Rorer South Africa (Proprietary) Limited Roche Products (Proprietary) Limited Schering (Proprietary) Limited Schering-Plough (Proprietary) Limited S.A. Scientific Pharmaceuticals (Proprietary) Limited SmithKline Beecham Pharmaceuticals (Proprietary) Limited Universal Pharmaceuticals (Proprietary) Limited Wyeth (Proprietary) Limited Xixia Pharmaceuticals (Proprietary) Limited Zeneca South Africa (Proprietary) Limited Bayer AG Boehringer-Ingelheim International GmbH Boehringer-Ingelheim KG Bristol-Myers Squibb Company Byk Gulden Lomberg Chemische Fabrik GmbH Dr. Karl Thomae GmbH Eli Lilly and Company F. Hoffman-La Roche AG Merck KGaA Merck & Co., Inc. Rhone-Poulenc Rorer S.A..