Thailand to start producing all types of cancer drugs soon

[donnacha]

Northern Thailand has one of the world's highest rates of lung cancer.

With every-worsening "burning seasons" and dangerous levels of PM 2.5 blighting the first half of every year, it is almost inevitable, just based on today's damage, that we are going to see exotic and expensive new cancers plaguing the population for decades to come.

The government could save millions of future cancer deaths and devastated families by making all outdoor burning a mandatory minimum offense and actively enforce it throughout the north with drone surveillance.

 

[PatOngo]

Just now, mikebell said:

I wonder if A-nut-in would specify how many people die each year from lung cancers caused by poor air quality - nothing is done to alleviate mass crop-burning and/or traffic congestion.

..........and what is the effect of the pesticides that Thai farmers are so infatuated with!

[donnacha]

13 minutes ago, PatOngo said:

That's nice of them, is'nt it!

It is, and I don't question your right to a good pension, but you should correctly attribute who is paying for it.

 

[PatOngo]

1 minute ago, donnacha said:

It is, and I don't question your right to a good pension, but you should correctly attribute who is paying for it.

 

Do you imagine I went through life without paying my taxes?

[micmichd]

18 minutes ago, PatOngo said:

That's nice of them, is'nt it!

If he is member of a closed pension funds, then the money in there is his legal property, and no nanny state government is allowed to put its hands on it. 

It's called social security insurance for a reason. 

[donnacha]

14 minutes ago, PatOngo said:

Do you imagine I went through life without paying my taxes?

You said, and I quote:
 

Quote

it's the country that pays me a decent pension!

So, you were not saying "I have been contributing to my pension all my life". In an attempt to add to your earlier, equally nonsensical brag about getting "free" medical care, you were bragging about this entity, the government, giving you a pension.

So, way too late for you to now start blustering about how you paid your taxes. You made a conscious decision to push the fake and dangerous narrative that governments are benign, beneficial entities, generously dispensing cash to the populace.

Again, governments have no money, only what they can take from the people by threat of force.

 

Edited September 26, 2020 by donnacha

[donnacha]

11 minutes ago, micmichd said:

If he is member of a closed pension funds, then the money in there is his legal property, and no nanny state government is allowed to put its hands on it. 

No government pension scheme works on that basis. There is no actual "pension pot". You are thinking about private pensions. Governments just find the money for pensions and other hidden liabilities as they go.

 

Edited September 26, 2020 by donnacha

[PatOngo]

7 minutes ago, donnacha said:

You said, and I quote:
 

So, you were not saying "I have been contributing to my pension all my life". In an attempt to add to your earlier, equally nonsensical brag about getting "free" medical care, you were bragging about this entity, the government, giving you a pension.

So, way too late for you to now start blustering about how you paid your taxes. You made a conscious decision to push the fake and dangerous narrative that governments are benign, beneficial entities.

Again, governments have no money, only what they can take from the people by threat of force.

 

BS!

[donnacha]

Just now, PatOngo said:

BS!

Your words, your attempt to pivot their meaning, clear and there for all to see.

 

[Antonymous]

20 minutes ago, donnacha said:

Northern Thailand has one of the world's highest rates of lung cancer.
 

 

This is a very serious subject and not something to assume or guess. I have not seen any health statistics that show what you claim.

 

Please provide a link to any statistics that show this.

 

[donnacha]

38 minutes ago, Antonymous said:

Please provide a link to any statistics that show this.

Google.

 

[Antonymous]

You have not provided evidence on which you base your statement that “Northern Thailand has one of the world's highest rates of lung cancer” or that lung cancer in the north of Thailand is directly correlated to air pollution.

 

I am not attacking you Donnacha. I am appalled by the pollution in Thailand - including the overuse of dangerous agricultural chemicals - and am genuinely and seriously interested in any proven links between air pollution (specifically) and lung cancer and appeal to you again to link to the study or studies that support your statement.

 

Telling me to ‘Google’ an answer isn’t helpful.

 

I have been following reports on this matter for years and have yet to see any proven correlation. What I do witness here in the countryside outside Chiang Mai is the high prevalence of people who chain smoke cigarettes and cough and spit constantly. I did Google it just now and the latest (2018) study specifically concludes that (bold type my emphasis):

 

“A considerable number of studies on air pollution monitoring in the northern region of Thailand [10, 14, 54] found that Chiang Mai was not the area with the highest air pollution level in this region, thus it seems that this might not be the only factor in the risk of death from lung cancer.”

 

The authors of this study can only hypothesise that:

 

 “The geographical patterns of risk of lung cancer mortality could be the result of environmental determinants. Future work should examine associations between environmental factors and lung cancer mortality.”

 

The study found other factors at work. For example:

 

 “The analysis of the risk of lung cancer mortality by gender revealed that females were at a higher risk of lung cancer mortality than males, especially in districts within Chiang Rai province. This might have been due to the effect of the chewing of Miang (fermented wild tea leaves) and tobacco smoking (cigarettes and Khiyoh) [12, 55, 56], in that the habit of females pursuing this pastime is higher than males [57].”

 

Their final conclusion:

 

“As such, this study provides a starting point for estimating the spatial pattern of the risk of lung cancer mortality and for examining associations between geographic risk factors and lung mortality for further studies.”

 

https://bmcpublichealth.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12889-018-6025-1

 

Please link to the study or studies that support your claims.

[MRToMRT]

A story that can only interpreted as "good" and "beneficial" yet most of the comments are negative or bickering. This forum is a cess pit some days.

[Pedrogaz]

20 hours ago, mark131v said:

I am amazed that the country with it's top ranked education and world class universities haven't been leading the world in the production of cancer medication for many years

 

Ooops, Thailand you say!  sorry forget my last...

 

Footnote: Thailand is perfectly adequate for copying the medical innovation's of academic work carried out at great expense by the worlds best scientists at the cutting edge of medicine, they are also good at making knock off Louis Vuitton handbags!!

It is perfectly legal to make generic copies. There is also a provision, TRIPS, in the WTO agreement for Thailand and other low income countries to produce generic copies of patented drugs where the Pharma industry has priced the drugs such as to inhibit access. It is illegal to export drugs made under TRIPS.

The Pharma industry spends way more on marketing their drugs with huge sales forces that they spend on research. I worked in Pharma for what it is, a filthy industry that has minimal regard for patients and total focus on profits for shareholders. The poor of the world need to unite against these morally bankrupt multinational ba$tards

[hotchilli]

21 hours ago, ChipButty said:

Will they be Originals or Copies? 

Will the 50% cheaper bit be passed on to patients?

[KhunKenAP]

I hope they have a strict Licensing and Quality Control Process that checks all these generic drugs to ensure they follow a proper formulation. Must be ongoing to stop some producers try to make more money by cutting corners that effect the drugs stated purpose.

[Justgrazing]

22 hours ago, webfact said:

 

The Government Pharmaceutical Organisation (GPO) has signed a memorandum of understanding with PTT to build a plant that can produce all types of cancer drugs, so Thai patients have easier access to medication at less than half the price.

 

Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said cancer was one of the major chronic diseases in Thailand and the top cause for death over the past two decades. More than 80,000 Thais die from cancer every year, and treatment for this disease is very high

What the article does not touch on is " medicines " as they are called are only one part of the treatment course for cancer .. the chemotherapy drugs should also not be described as medicine , their purpose and effect is different to that of medicines and radiotherapy can/will form as big a part of any treatment regime along with surgery in many cases .. 

Edited September 26, 2020 by Justgrazing
Sp

[micmichd]

1 hour ago, Justgrazing said:

What the article does not touch on is " medicines " as they are called are only one part of the treatment course for cancer .. the chemotherapy drugs should also not be described as medicine , their purpose and effect is different to that of medicines and radiotherapy can/will form as big a part of any treatment regime along with surgery in many cases .. 

Even those will probably be cheaper than in the West. Like actually all kinds of medical treatments in Thailand. 

 

Europeans are simply not aware of the costs because they never see a bill unless they are private patients. But Americans under Obamacare should know. 

Edited September 26, 2020 by micmichd

[Rancid]

From a business perspective it is a good idea as the cancer business is worth billions per year. That these drugs rarely save anyone, and in many cases just accelerate their death, is of course a moral issue and as such not a consideration.

 

I understand people consent to chemo as they see no alternative, but if you'd ever watched a close relative die in misery because of said treatment you probably wouldn't touch them either.

[Pattaya Spotter]

On 9/25/2020 at 6:46 PM, ChipButty said:

Who said your getting it cheaper?

The GPO official quoted in the article.

[elliss]

On 9/25/2020 at 7:04 PM, steven100 said:

i'm sure they wiil. And like everything else in Thailand,  could you even trust them.

 

 Well that said ,  my ex-wife is available for tests ...

[mikebell]

21 hours ago, donnacha said:

No government pension scheme works on that basis. There is no actual "pension pot". You are thinking about private pensions. Governments just find the money for pensions and other hidden liabilities as they go.

 

Unless you're from the UK & choose to live in Thailand.  I worked for 40 years, paying tax & National insurance.  At 78 my state pension is £360/14,400 baht per MONTH - frozen for 12 years!

[ChipButty]

16 hours ago, Rancid said:

From a business perspective it is a good idea as the cancer business is worth billions per year. That these drugs rarely save anyone, and in many cases just accelerate their death, is of course a moral issue and as such not a consideration.

 

I understand people consent to chemo as they see no alternative, but if you'd ever watched a close relative die in misery because of said treatment you probably wouldn't touch them either.

That chemo is a killer, I thought my wife was going to die on me one night I kept her awake all night occasionally moving around A/C on cold towels everything I could think of, checking her temperature ready to shot to the hospital if needed I dont wish that on anyone

[Dumbastheycome]

How  typical it is that so many comments assume a position of ridicule of this announcement !

The intent is to produce for the  benefit of Thai . Cancer treatment falls under the umbrella of the  social health system..i.e 30 bht scheme. 

Imported pharmaceuticals come at an inflated price when still under patent despite many being produced under licence in places such as India !

It is  another of those fallacies perpetuated  by prominent Companies that  generic products are inferior which simply supports the continued inflated cost of their originals.

 

 

 

 

 

[teacherclaire]

Another hub that will never exist? 

[teacherclaire]

20 hours ago, Rancid said:

From a business perspective it is a good idea as the cancer business is worth billions per year. That these drugs rarely save anyone, and in many cases just accelerate their death, is of course a moral issue and as such not a consideration.

 

I understand people consent to chemo as they see no alternative, but if you'd ever watched a close relative die in misery because of said treatment you probably wouldn't touch them either.

The very sad part is that people with cancer will do all to get healthy again and it's true that most pills only accelerate the cancer. Sad, but true.

 

   My sister had a cancer group for 25 years and I've heard the strangest stories about Charlatans.  

[micmichd]

1 hour ago, teacherclaire said:

Another hub that will never exist? 

It will exist. Free for Thais. Farangs pay.