Abbott Laboratories' tit-for-tat decision to withold new HIV treatments from Thailand has drawn an angry response from the Aids Healthcare Foundation (AHF).

The pharma company's withdrawal of new drug applications from the government's review process is in reaction to Bangkok's decision to issue a compulsory licence for Abbott's anti-retroviral Kaletra earlier this year.

The AHF, which operates free Aids treatment clinics in Asia, Africa and Latin America, branded Abbott "heartless" for what it termed the "blacklist" of Thailand.

The organisation's president, Michael Weinstein, said: "This is a new low, and I am horrified that Abbott would deprive poor people in need of life-saving medications, particularly for those living with HIV/Aids, in a country as hard-hit by the epidemic as Thailand."

Thai authorities claim World Trade Organisation (WTO) regulations allow them to issue compulsory licences - and use generic versions of patented drugs - if they deem it necessary to protect public health. It is estimated that a generic version of Kaletra would cost around half the annual bill per patient of the brand.

But Abbott argues that Bangkok has shown scant respect for its intellectual property and Dirk van Eeden, the company's director of public affairs, was unrepentent.

"This is a consequence, directly, of the Thai government's decision not to support innovation by breaking the patents of numerous medicines," he was quoted as saying in the Financial Times." Actions that don't respect patents make it difficult to justify bringing forward new medicines in Thailand." Abbott  wants the Thais to reverse their current policy.

The AHF says Abbott's actions could be "devastating". The heat-stable version of Kaletra, called Aluvia, is currently in the process of being approved for use in Thailand, but revoking the drug will mean that access to the drug will be severely restricted.

"Poorer infected populations, who often cannot afford refrigeration, will continue to go without access to any form of Kaletra," said Homayoon Khanlou, the AHF's associate director of medicine.

Recent developments in Thailand, a so-called middle income country, have been a bone of contention for the pharma industry, with products manufactured by Merck and Sanofi-Aventis also subject to compulsory licences.

pharmafocus@wiley.co.uk