Developing countries led by Indonesia on Tuesday demanded a fair share of commercial vaccines derived from samples they provide of the deadly H5N1 bird flu virus.
A resolution, presented by 17 countries at the annual World Health Assembly, came as Indonesia said it had resumed sharing virus samples with the World Health Organization (WHO) after a five-month hiatus.
The United Nations agency, under growing pressure from countries hard-hit by outbreaks of the virus, is due to come up with a new formula for sharing of samples and the resulting benefits by the end of June.
Indonesian Health Minister Siti Fadillah Supari said the WHO's 50-year-old system of sharing was unfair to poor countries which provide virus samples yet are often unable to afford resulting commercial vaccines.
"There is an unfair mechanism in which avian flu virus samples are provided free by developing countries but drug companies patented this vaccine and are selling them at unaffordable cost for the developing countries," Supari told the meeting.
"Sequences had been used for some parties for instance through research presentation, publication, commercialization, and request for patents without our consent. Such practice violates the spirit in which virus is given," Supari said.
The virus has killed over 170 people, mainly in south-east Asia, since it re-emerged in 2003. Although it remains mainly an animal disease, scientists fear that if it mutates into a disease easily spread amongst people, it could kill millions.
Sharing samples with the WHO's network of collaborative laboratories is deemed vital to see if viruses have mutated, become drug resistant or grown more transmissible.
Indonesia in February signed a memorandum of understanding with a unit of U.S. company Baxter International Inc to develop a bird flu vaccine.
Developing countries have called for equal access to vaccines and for establishing a global vaccine stockpile.
Three countries which have recorded human bird flu cases -- Indonesia, Laos and Iraq -- are among the 17 sponsors of the resolution which will be debated at the assembly which ends May 23.
The text calls for ensuring "the transparent, fair and equitable sharing of benefits" arising from information and biological specimens provided by countries.
"Any vaccines, diagnostics, antiviral agents and other medical supplies arising from the use of the virus...must be made available at an affordable price and in a timely manner to developing countries, particularly to those under the most serious threat of, or already experiencing a pandemic," it said.
There must be "prior informed consent" of the country contributing the virus, thereby giving it a say on the publishing of any findings and in commercial use.
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