4 November 2002

BIOTECH DRUG CAUSING DEADLY ANEMIA/BIO-PROSPECTORS/INDIGENOUS ASSEMBLY CONDEMNS TRADE PACT

"Biotech products need to be handled with great care ... and we need to be looking for unexpected adverse effects." - French physician Jerome Rossert (item 2)

"Leonidas Iza, president of the powerful Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador (CONAIE), warned that implementing  the FTAA [the Free Trade Area of the Americas] could mean the privatization of such basic services as water and the invasion of genetically modified agricultural products." (item 1)

"Fortune-hunting scientists are scouring vast tracts of tropical rainforests for plants to produce new antibiotics and other drugs that could be worth billions of dollars. ...Like the gold rush of 150 years ago that lured thousands of hopeful treasure seekers, "bio-prospectors" and global drug giants have staked claims to areas of forest... access to rainforests is the must-have asset for bioprospectors, especially those who want to raise money from stock exchange listings." (item 3)

' "We indigenous peoples do not permit patents or other private property rights over life and traditional knowledge, because for us they are of a collective nature, inalienable and inter- generational, and they are linked to the notion of our ancestral territories."

"As such, we indigenous peoples have decided not to compete in the system of the globalized market," stated Felipe Quishpe, of Bolivia. "We create and maintain terraced farmland, we farm without chemicals, we enrich the soils by using complementary crops. With this approach we both maintain genetic diversity and strengthen the agricultural system against plagues and the imponderables  of nature"

U.S. sociologist James Petras, who attended the Assembly as an observer, told IPS he is convinced that his country is promoting the FTAA because there are still economic areas in Latin America that cannot completely control, such as the petroleum industry in Venezuela and other economic sectors in Ecuador and Brazil. "The big illusion of the FTAA for Latin America is to achieve access to a market of 800 million people, but that dream is based on the United States favoring true free trade, which it does not," said  the sociologist.' (item 1)

1. INDIGENOUS ASSEMBLY CONDEMNS TRADE PACT
2. Biotech drug causing deadly anemia
3. Bio-prospectors seek treasure in Australia forests

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1. TRADE-AMERICAS: INDIGENOUS ASSEMBLY CONDEMNS TRADE PACT

By Kintto Lucas
Inter Press Service November 1, 2002

QUITO, Nov.1: The Continental Assembly of Peoples of the Americas,  meeting Friday in the Ecuadorian capital, exhorted the  region's governments to reject the Free Trade Area of  the Americas, saying it will harm their cultures and the  environment and deplete natural resources. In the final  declaration of the indigenous meet, titled "Mandate from the  Peoples", the delegates set new dates  for "cultural-territorial resistance and affirmation" to  fight the hemisphere-wide FTAA. The indigenous activists  see the economic approach of the FTAA as the same that "was  implemented in 1492, when the pillaging of our wealth and  of our natural resources began," said Evo Morales, who was a  presidential candidate in Bolivia's elections in June.

 "What they are seeking now is simply to deepen that model,  which is based on free imports and is a policy aimed at  concentrating wealth in the hands of a few," the Indian  leader told IPS. The Continental Assembly of Peoples was  held in Quito in parallel to the seventh FTAA  ministerial-level conference, which drew foreign affairs  and trade ministers from the 34 countries that are involved  in creating the free trade zone -- all nations of North and  South America and the Caribbean, except Cuba. The  preparatory meetings that took place this week  were surrounded by massive street protests, with violent  police crackdowns dispersing some of the demonstrations.

 Morales, who took part in the Assembly of Peoples, said  the promoters of the FTAA are not interested in  environmental conservation, in contrast to the native  communities of the Americas, whose cultures are based on  living in harmony with nature. "The economy should be  subordinate to the preservation of the planet," a  fundamental value of "the indigenous movements,  whether Quechua, Aymara, Guaran , Aztec, Quiche or Mapuche,  because we live in a direct relationship with Mother  Earth," he said. "In the world of the indigenous peoples,  we seek to produce for the common good, in the context of  reciprocity and solidarity, something the FTAA completely  cancels out," Morales added. It is proposals like those of  the FTAA that brought crisis to Latin America and have  triggered the "resistance of Indians and of social  movements," and are fomenting its expansion, said the  former presidential candidate, who lost the Bolivian  elections by just 1.5 percent of the vote. Despite their  rejection of FTAA, the indigenous communities maintain open  dialogue aimed at integrating the countries of  Latin America, as has always been proposed by the region's  ethnic and social movements, he said. The final document of  the Assembly, signed by indigenous, environmental, peasant  and trade union organizations from more than 20 countries,  asks the governments of the Americas what "integration"  they are talking about, if their economic policies "are  disintegrating and eliminating" the original communities  of the area encompassed by the FTAA. "What integration are  you proposing if the basis of your approach is competition,  the desire to accumulate and obtain profit at any price,  inequality, disrespect for peoples and cultures, and the  aim to unite us all in the market and in consumerism," said  the indigenous delegates gathered in Quito. "What  integration are you proclaiming if the first and fundamental  interrelation of every human being is with Mother Earth and  you fail to realize it," states the declaration. Leonidas  Iza, president of the powerful Confederation of Indigenous  Nationalities of Ecuador (CONAIE), warned that implementing  the FTAA could mean the privatization of such  basic services as water and the invasion of genetically  modified agricultural products. "Inequality will bring with  it the destruction of the ancestral cultures and the  ethical values that continue to subsist, and will even end  up dismantling the nation states and turn them  into incorporated colonies," stated Iza. The indigenous  leaders who participated in Friday's Assembly reaffirmed the  "autonomy and free territorial, cultural, political and  governmental determination" of their peoples, vindicating  their "territories and the collective right to  biodiversity."

 "We indigenous peoples do not permit patents or other  private property rights over life and traditional  knowledge, because for us they are of a collective nature,  inalienable and inter- generational, and they are linked to  the notion of our ancestral territories."

 "As such, we indigenous peoples have decided not to  compete in the system of the globalized market," stated  Felipe Quishpe, of Bolivia. "We create and maintain  terraced farmland, we farm without chemicals, we enrich the  soils by using complementary crops. With this approach we  both maintain genetic diversity and strengthen the  agricultural system against plagues and the imponderables  of nature," he said. Quishpe added that many indigenous  communities implement "renewable, non- polluting forms of  generating energy, and are exploring other renewable energy  technologies, like bio-gas and solar energy."

 The final declaration of the Assembly of Peoples concludes  with the proposal for a referendum across the Americas so  that citizens can express whether or not they support the  creation of the Canada-to-Tierra del Fuego free trade zone.  U.S. sociologist James Petras, who attended the Assembly as  an observer, told IPS he is convinced that his country is  promoting the FTAA because there are still economic areas  in Latin America that cannot completely control, such as  the petroleum industry in Venezuela and other economic  sectors in Ecuador and Brazil. "The big illusion of the  FTAA for Latin America is to achieve access to a market of  800 million people, but that dream is based on the United  States favoring true free trade, which it does not," said  the sociologist.

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2. Biotech drug causing deadly anemia

By MICHAEL SMITH
United Press International November 2, 2002

PHILADEPHIA, Pa., Nov. 2 (UPI): A genetically engineered drug  hailed as a dramatic advance in the treatment of kidney disease has  been found to cause a sudden upsurge in cases of  potentially life-threatening anemia among kidney patients  around the world, researchers reported Saturday.

 Researchers said they are puzzled as to why human  recombinant erythropoietin, which has been regarded as safe  since it was introduced in the late 1980s, now seems to be  causing cases of pure red cell aphasia, or PRCA. Patients  with the condition suffer severe anemia and must be given  regular blood transfusions, said kidney specialist Richard  Glassock, who chaired a special session on the problem at  the annual meeting of the American Society of Nephrology.

 PRCA usually occurs in a "vanishingly small" number of  people, Glassock told United Press International. It has  been linked to disease of the thymus gland, some viruses,  and auto-immune diseases, but not to kidney disease or the  drugs used to treat it. Since 1998, however, more than 150  cases have appeared around the world among kidney patients  treated with Eprex, a version of human recombinant  erythropoietin that is not sold in the United States. This  represents a hundredfold increase over the usual rate of  PRCA, Glassock said, adding there have been scattered cases  linked to other brands of the drug. Almost all of the cases  occurred in patients who injected the drug under the skin,  rather than into a vein, said physician John Knight,  director of safety assessment for Johnson & Johnson of New  Brunswick, N.J.,   the company that makes Eprex. Knight told session  attendees the company now is urging doctors and patients to  use only intravenous injections and doctors should stop  using the drug if they suspect PRCA. Exactly why Eprex  injected under the skin should cause PRCA still is unknown,  Glassock said. "The nuances of this mystery go well beyond  the data that we have now."

 German medical professor Eberhard Ritz, who co-chaired  Saturday's special session, said he is convinced the answer  lies in the way Eprex is formulated, not in the drug itself. "What is different must be the way the immune system reacts  to this compound," he told UPI, because other versions of  the drug -- with different formulations -- do not seem to  have the same effect. French physician Jerome Rossert, one  of the first to report drug-related PRCA cases in France,  said the link to the method of injection is puzzling.

 Although the drug was being injected under the skin before  1998, there were only a few cases of PRCA. He told  attendees that Germany and France have about the same  number of kidney patients who inject the drug under the  skin, but France has had 33 cases of PRCA and Germany only  three. Rossert said the sudden appearance of PRCA is  alarming, but human recombinant erythropoietin "remains a  very safe drug. Biotech products need to be handled with  great care ... and we need to be looking for unexpected  adverse effects."

 Although PRCA is debilitating and potentially deadly,  Glassock said, data presented at this meeting show a kidney  transplant completely cures the condition, usually within a  matter of weeks.

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3. Bio-prospectors seek treasure in Australia forests

By Michael Byrnes, Reuters

SYDNEY, Nov 3 (Reuters) - It's  Australia's new gold rush. Fortune-hunting scientists are  scouring vast tracts of tropical rainforests for plants to  produce new antibiotics and other drugs that could be worth  billions of dollars. "Australia remains the last continent  to be discovered in biodiversity," says Selwyn Snell, chief  executive officer of Australian science group BioProspect  Ltd. "It has so many unique and even unregistered and  unnamed biological species that it's just remarkable. And  we're out there hunting for them." Like the gold rush of  150 years ago that lured thousands of hopeful treasure  seekers, "bio-prospectors" and global drug giants have  staked claims to areas of forest hoping to tap jungles that  harbour diverse and unique plantlife. The jungles beckon  with the promise of a world-beating find worth a fortune --  a cure for cancer, HIV or Alzheimers, or a chemically  unique antibiotic to knock out super bugs like Golden Staph  which haunt hospitals around the world. The yield so far  from Australia's northern rainforests, mainly in Queensland  and Western Australia, is several new compounds for  antibiotics, new pesticides which are close to commercial  production and a pill that could prevent prostate cancer.

 Scientists caution that it takes 15 years and a huge  investment to bring a new pharmaceutical to market, and  only one in 1,000 discoveries make it. Agri-chemicals and  dietary products are quicker to market, and even they offer  pay-dirt worth hundreds of millions. Bio-prospectors range  from scientists with licence claims, through to large  numbers of "illegal" hopefuls.

VENTURE CAPITAL Big groups  in the hunt include London-based AstraZeneca, one of the  world's largest pharmaceutical companies, and  Melbourne-based Amrad Corp Ltd through its Cerylid  Biosciences unit, with links to international giants  including Franco-German Aventis and Glaxo SmithKline. The  listed BioProspect has recently been joined in the hunt by  smaller compatriot EcoBiotics Ltd, which aims to float on  the Australian Stock Exchange in 2004. "In the past it was  well nigh impossible to get venture capital for biotech and  drug discovery in Australia," said Stephen Trowell, chief  executive of Entocosm Pty Ltd, a spin-off from the  government-backed Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial  Research Organisation (CSIRO). "That's starting to change."  Like prospecting claims, access to rainforests is the  must-have asset for bioprospectors, especially those who  want to raise money from stock exchange listings.

 Cairns-based EcoBiotics, now raising A$3 million (US$1.7  million) in working capital, has exclusive access to large  tracts of Queensland state rainforest through the  Australian Rainforest Foundation and private holders. It is  also negotiating for access to Queensland rainforest under  state control and has exclusive access to 170,000 hectares  (425,000 acres) of some of the last rainforest in the  Solomon Islands to Australia's north. "(But) there's a lot  out there without licences," says BioProspect's Snell.

 "They're going to come to a foul end. If you don't have a  licence showing ownership of a compound, you're in deep  doo-doo." Multinational companies will not deal with  unlicensed groups. BioProspect already holds agreements  with the Queensland government for access to plants, soil,  insects, marine organisms and animals in state-owned areas,  as well as a collection licence for Western Australia. This  does not give it a monopoly over particular plants, but is  the first step to eventual patents on chemical discoveries  in plants. The plants found to yield valuable chemicals are  the most closely guarded secrets of Australia's  bioprospectors and are the lucrative intellectual property  of the forest hunters.

NEW PRODUCTS "We have a very unique  rainforest (with) the largest percentage of ancient plant  families," EcoBiotics managing director Victoria Gordon  says. "The Queensland tropical rainforest is unique because  of the very old geology of the area (producing) a mozaic of  forest types. We have 15 different forest types here  (while) in general the Amazon Basin has about five  different forest types." Australian rainforests also have  more tree species than in the whole of North America and  Europe, she says. The fight for survival by large numbers  of organisms produced novel chemicals and survival  solutions, making Australian forests among the world's most  productive. Australia is also the only country in the world  which combines large rainforests with a developed economy,  an established legal system and high level medical and  general scientific research. Targeting plants which it  believes are likely to produce payoffs from gaps in the  pharmaceutical and agrochemical markets, EcoBiotics says it  is applying for patents for four new antibiotic chemical  compounds, and is working on others to combat intestinal  parasites and bacteria. "We're now in discussions with the  large pharmaceutical and agri-chemical companies for  licensing deals," says Gordon. BioProspect has a major  natural insecticide close to commercial production, has just patented a product for termite control and is close to  launching dietary and health products in the United States,  says Snell. One is a food supplement, from Australian  materials, which inhibits cell activity in areas of hte  body prone to cancer. "(This) is looking good (for)  prostate cancer," he says. ($1 - A$1.82)