RC of The Day 29/03/2013 
*Some of ACT UP's most powerful actions were copied from the South African anti-apartheid movement.
During the 1990s, we carried the ashes of people who had died of AIDS, or the actual bodies of the dead,
to the feet of those who contributed to their deaths through inaction or inappropriate action.
*The tactics of the global justice movement influenced ACT UP, and as the 1990s progressed ACT UP in
turn began to devote itself more strongly to global issues surrounding AIDS. When treatments began to
emerge that helped rich HIV positive people live longer and healthier lives, activism became more important
than ever because the majority of people with AIDS in the developing world had almost no access to these
treatments.
*It is estimated that 25-40 percent of people aged between 15 and 45 years in some areas of Africa are
infected with HIV. Life expectancy in some African nations has been reduced by 25-33 percent, from 60
years of age or more to 40 years or less. An estimated 4 million people in Africa will die of AIDS this year,
and there are already millions of AIDS orphans.
*An estimated 90 percent of people with HIV live in developing countries and have no access to any proven
treatments for HIV. Patients with drug-resistant tuberculosis and other deadly diseases also need medications
they cannot possibly obtain due to their price. Patented drugs are often priced ten times higher than is
necessary to make a profit.
*Until a few years ago, the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) did not cover pharmaceutical
patents, and few cared if developing countries quietly made copies of needed patented drugs; large
pharmaceutical corporations had no viable market in those countries anyway. But under today's GATT,
which was set up at the World Trade Organization (WTO), drug companies have become extraordinarily
aggressive in enforcing patent rights around the world, no matter what the cost to public health and welfare.
*Global trade laws allow exceptions to patent protection in some cases. The WTO's Trade-related Aspects
of Intellectual Property (TRIPs) agreement includes provisions for “compulsory licensing” and “parallel
importing”. Governments can respond to a medical emergency by manufacturing generic equivalents of
patented drugs locally or by importing such drugs at the lowest available world price. The United States
commonly uses the compulsory licensing provision itself — for cable television, music, and computer
technology, for example — but has furiously opposed efforts by Thailand, South Africa, and other developing
countries to use the same provisions for lifesaving medications.
*The US government (including the US Trade Representative, the State Department, the executive branch
and the Congress) has in recent years supported the multinational pharmaceutical companies seeking to protect their patent rights, without balancing concern for human lives. US government policy is more
restrictive that the WTO agreement and the US government has used its clout to stop other countries from
providing critical drugs to their own citizens by threatening economic sanctions.
*Drug companies say they need to protect their profits in order to recoup the development (R & D) of new
drugs. But this is a major exaggeration. Many drugs — including the AIDS drugs AZT, ddl, dC, D4T, 3TC,
and ritonavir (Norvir), and cancer drugs like paclitaxel (Taxol) — were largely developed by the National
Institutes of Health (NIH) or by university researchers with funding from NIH grants. US taxpayers paid for
much of the research on these drugs, and then the government aided universities licensed them to drug
companies (sometimes in the final phase of clinical trials) for very small royalty payments, sometime as
little as 1.5 percent of sales. The R&D; costs for many drugs that have generated billions of dollars in sales
were mostly paid with tax dollars, with the drug companies' investment limited to the final stages of the
clinical trial process. Such costs have long since been recouped.
*In addition, drug companies invest surprising little in R&D.; For example, Abbott's 1998 annual report listed
R&D; costs as 9.8 percent of sales. The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America
(PhRMA), an industry trade association, spends an average of 30 percent of sales on marketing. In addition,
drug companies' return to investors is the highest of any industry, averaging 25 percent, but in some cases
topping 33 percent. Pharmaceutical companies are among the richest corporations on the planet.
*Generic versions of antiretroviral drugs such as AZT, ddI, and ritonavir are being produced and in some
cases are already being sold for less than 10 percent of the cost of the patented equivalent.
41. According to the author, what was the most likely reason for ACT UP to copy actions from the South
African anti-apartheid movement for the anti-AIDS movement?
a. The two movements were funded by the same set of institutions and it was advised that the
successful tactics of the former should be adopted.
b. Anti-AIDS movement was considered a global justice movement and the tactics of similar
movement such as anti-apartheid was considered useful.
c. The schism between the haves and the have-nots were similar and the target audience for the
two movements was same as well.
d. The leaders of the two movements were the same and the stage on which these were played was
also the same — South Africa.
42. The author uses the figures regarding life expectancy, mortality rates to corroborate what point?
a. Africa is threatened most by this scourge and developed countries need to provide financial aid
to these patients.
b. The treatments developed for HIV are expensive whereas majority of the victims live in poor
countries.
c. The majority of the affected population is the youth and this would lead to population problems in
Africa.
d. None of the above
43. According to the passage, which statement is false with reference to research and development of
drugs?
a. Most of the drugs that drug companies claim as being developed by them are in fact developed
by the funding of NIH.
b. The drug companies come into the picture when the universities and government license it out.
c. The drug companies pay royalty payments of 50 % to these institutions.
d. Drug companies' investment is limited to the final stages of the clinical trial processes.
44. According to the passage, which one of these statements is false?
a. R & D costs for drug companies are 9.8 Percent of the sales according to Abbott's 1998 research.
b. PhRMA is an industry trade association.
c. The return to investors for drug companies is at an average of 25 %.
d. PhRMA states that R & D costs are 20 % of the profits.
45. What is the tone of the author in the passage?
a. Argumentative b. Critical c. Descriptive d. Supportive
46. Which statement is the author most likely to agree with?
a. Countries like US use the WTO rules according to what suits their needs.
b. WTO as opposed to the earlier GATT regime is more aggressive.
c. WTO was set with the express need to provide stringent laws for international laws on drug
patents.
d. The WTO is covertly funded by the big drug companies.
47. The passage uses
a. 12 acronyms b. 15 acronyms c. 9 acronyms d. 14 acronyms
48. According to the author, what would be the logical extension of this passage?
a. GATT will allow parallel production of patented drugs for AIDS/HIV treatment.
b. A resolution forbidding patenting lifesaving medications will be passed at the UN.
c. All lifesavings drugs would henceforth be free.
d. The US Govt. will review its support to the multinational pharmaceutical companies and will use
its clout to provide critical drugs at extremely low prices.
Happy CATing 
P.S- (*) 
You never good in Something,you always Good AT 