GLOBAL DAY OF ACTION AGAINST ROCHE’S INHUMANITY #RocheGreedKills

#RocheGreedKills

February 7, 2017

Today we stand together as women living with cancer, families of people with cancer, activists, scientists, researchers and health professionals from across the world. Together we demand that no woman go without it lifesaving breast cancer treatment because it is too expensive.

We demand justice for Tobeka Daki.

A fearless activist from South Africa who was living with HER2+ breast cancer since 2013. Despite being a good candidate for trastuzumab, Tobeka was never able to access the treatment due to its high cost.

On November 14, 2016 she died in her home.

We do not know whether trastuzumab would have saved Tobeka’s life – trastuzumab doesn’t always work. We do know, however, that Tobeka was never given a chance. Even though she was dying and the medicine existed, she was never given an opportunity to try it.

The price of trastuzumab varies in countries across the world. These prices aren’t always public. They are agreed behind closed doors.

In South Africa, the annual price in the private sector is around $38,365 (USD). The few public facilities which can access trastuzumab do so at a lower price of around $15,735 (USD) per year. Both out of reach of most.

• In Brazil, it costs $17,562 (USD).
• In Malaysia, it costs $17,929 (USD).
• In France, it costs $30,595 (USD).
• In India, it costs $10,938* (USD).

But, health economists have shown that a year’s worth of trastuzumab can be produced and sold for only $240 (USD)–drastically less. This estimated price even includes a 50% increase above the cost of production for profit.

Meanwhile Roche are posting fat profits.

Severin Schwan, Roche CEO

In 2015 Roche made $8.9 billion (USD) profit. In the same year CEO Severin Schwan earned $12 million (USD). It seems highly plausible that Roche could cut the price of trastuzumab dramatically and still be very profitable.

Instead Roche maintains it’s high prices in any way possible. Roche holds multiple evergreened patents on trastuzumab in certain countries across the world. In South Africa, for example, multiple patents extend their monopoly until 2033.

In countries where the patents have ended or do not exist, Roche is using other means to block potentially more affordable biosimilar versions coming to market. In India Roche have initiated a court challenge against the Indian regulatory body for its decision to approve Mylan’s version as a biosimilar product.

In Brazil and Argentina, Roche is one of the pharmaceutical companies litigating against those governments for their attempts to use legal international safeguards to protect public health.

For countries like the UK and the US, Roche are trying to charge a price for T-DM1, the drug breast cancer patients need once trastuzumab fails, that is so high even they cannot afford it.

For too long Roche has been allowed to charge exorbitant prices for these lifesaving treatments.

Tobeka had one life. Her two children had one mother. We had the means to give her a chance at survival and we failed her – as we will continue to fail other women.

What is most disturbing is the unconcerned attitude and the lack of basic humanity shown by people at Roche. It is not as if they are unaware that many people can’t access trastuzumab because of its high price.

Manfred Heinzer, Roche South Africa General Manager

Shame on you Manfred Heinzer (Roche South Africa General Manager) for not having done more since hearing about Tobeka’s plight six months before her death.

Shame on you Severin Schwan (Roche CEO) for insisting on fat profits while you could save lives by trimming your profits.

You could have given Tobeka a chance, but instead you turned your back on her.

Don’t turn your back on all the other women across the world.

• Drop the price of trastuzumab and T-DM1 so that all women living with HER2+ breast cancer who need these medicines can access them;
• Immediately cease all litigation against biosimilar versions of trastuzumab;
• Stop abusive patenting practices that needlessly extend patent monopoly on trastuzumab and other medicines; and
• Immediately cease litigation against the Brazilian and Argentinian governments for their use of TRIPS flexibilities.

• ACT UP London, United Kingdom
• ACT UP New York, United States
• ACT UP Paris, France
• AIDS Access Foundation, Thailand
• AIDS and Rights Alliance of Southern Africa (ARASA)
• All India Drug Action Network (AIDAN), India
• All-Ukrainian Network of PLWHA, Ukraine
• Alliance of Doctors for Ethical Healthcare, India
• Asia Pacific Council of AIDS Service Organisations (APCASO), Thailand
• Asia Pacific Network of People Living with HIV/AIDS (APN+)
• Asia Pacific Network of Sex Workers (APNSW)
• Association of Korean medicine Doctors for Health rights (AKDH), South Korea
• Association of Physicians for Humanism (APH), South Korea
• Brazilian Interdisciplinary AIDS Association (ABIA), Brazil
• Cancer Alliance, South Africa
• Cape Mental Health, South Africa
• Center for Health and Social Change (SHSC), South Korea
• Center for Research of Environment, Appropriate Technology, and Advocacy (CREATA), Indonesia
• Charitable Foundation of Patients “Blood drop”, Ukraine
• Child With Future, Ukraine
• Children with Hemophilia, Ukraine
• Coalition Plus, France
• Community Development Centre, Malaysia
• Crisis Care Home, Malaysia
• Delhi Network of Positive People (DNP+), India
• EVA Non-Profit Partnership, Russia
• Fix the Patent Laws Coalition, South Africa
• Fundación Grupo Efecto Positivo, Argentina
• Global Network of Sex Work Projects (NSWP), International
• Health GAP, International
• Health Poverty Action, United Kingdom
• HIV i-base, United Kingdom
• Housing Works, United States
• Human Rights Law Network, India
• I-MAK, United States
• Indonesia AIDS Coalition (IAC), Indonesia
• Indonesia For Global Justice (IGJ), Indonesia
• Indonesia Positive Women Network (IPPI), Indonesia
• Initiative for Health & Equity in Society, India
• Intellectual Property Left, South Korea
• International Treatment Preparedness Coalition, Global
• International Treatment Preparedness Coalition, Middle East and North Africa (ITPC-MENA)
• International Treatment Preparedness Coalition, Russia (ITPCru)
• International Treatment Preparedness Coalition, South Asia
• Jaringan Peduli Tuberkulosis Indonesia (JAPETI), Indonesia
• Just Treatment, United Kingdom
• Kartini Samon, Indonesia
• Kesatuan Nelayan Tradisional Indonesia (KNTI), Indonesia
• Knowledge Ecology International (KEI), International
• Korea Alliance of Patients’ Organization, South Korea
• Korea Congenital Heart Disease Patient Group, South Korea
• Korea Heart Disease Patient Group, South Korea
• Korea Kidney Cancer Association, South Korea
• Korea Leukemia Patient Group, South Korea
• Korean Dentists Association for Healthy Society (KDAH), South Korea
• Korean Federation of Medical Groups for Health rights (KFHR), South Korea
• Korean GIST Patients Organization, South Korea
• Korean Pharmacists for Democratic Society (KPDS), South Korea
• Korean Progressive Network-Jinbonet, South Korea
• Lawyers Collective, India
• LOCOST, India
• Lusiana, Indonesia
• Médecins Du Monde, France
• Mr. Charles Santiago, Member of Parliament, Malaysia
• Mr. Mark Cheong, Lecturer, School of Pharmacy, Monash University, Malaysia
• Muskan Sanstha, India
• National Working Group on Patent Laws, India
• Network of Marginalised Peoples JERIT, Malaysia
• Patients of Ukraine
• People’s Health Institute, South Korea
• People’s Health Movement Global
• People’s Solidarity for Social Progress, South Korea
• Pink Ribbon of Ukraine
• Positive Malaysian Treatment Access & Advocacy Group (MTAAG+), Malaysia
• Positive Women, Ukraine
• Public Citizen, United States
• Rare Immune Disease, Ukraine
• RED Argentina de Personas Positivas, Argentina
• Red Latinoamericana por el Acceso a Medicamentos (RedLAM), Argentina
• Rural Women’s Assembly, South Africa
• SAMA – Resource Group for Women and Health, India
• SANGRAM, India
• SECTION27, South Africa
• Seruni, Indonesia
• Socialist Party of Malaysia
• Solidaritas Perempuan (Women’s Solidarity for Human Rights), Indonesia
• Solidarity for HIV/AIDS Human Rights-NANURI+, South Korea
• Solidarity for Worker’s Health (SWH), South Korea
• Sonke Gender Justice, South Africa
• South African Depression and Anxiety Group (SADAG), South Africa
• South African Non-Communicable Diseases Alliance (SA NCD Alliance)
• Spark of Hope, Ukraine
• STOPAIDS, United Kingdom
• Talking about Reproductive and Sexual Health Issues (TARSHI), India
• Thai Network of People Living with HIV/AIDS, Thailand
• Third World Network, International
• Transnational Institute (TNI), International
• Treatment Action Campaign (TAC), South Africa
• Treatment Action Group (TAG), United States
• Treatment Advocacy and Literacy Campaign (TALC), Zambia
• Union for Affordable Cancer Treatment (UACT), United States
• Universities Allied for Essential Medicines (UAEM), International
• Veshya Anyay Mukti Parishad (VAMP), India
• Vietnam Network of People living with HIV (VNP+)
• Wahana Lingkungan Hidup Indonesia (WALHI), Indonesia
• WOMIN, South Africa
• Young Professionals Chronic Disease Network (YP-CDN), International
• Youth STOPAIDS, United Kingdom

* Conversions, at time of print.