View source for Government Pharmaceutical Organization

{{Short description|State enterprise of Thailand}}
{{Infobox government agency
| agency_name = Government Pharmaceutical Organization
| native_name_a = {{lang|th|องค์การเภสัชกรรม}}
| type = State enterprise
| logo = Logo of Government Pharmaceutical Organization Thailand.png
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| preceding1 = Government Pharmaceutical Laboratory
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| parent_department = [[Ministry of Public Health (Thailand)|Ministry of Public Health]]
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| headquarters = [[Ratchathewi District|Ratchathewi]], Bangkok, Thailand
| coordinates = {{coord|13.7668|100.5285}}
| employees = 2,812<ref name="GPO-AR2011" />{{RP|104}}
| budget =
| chief1_name = Doctor Opas Karnkawinpong
| chief1_position = Chairman
| chief2_name = [[Taweesin Visanuyothin]]
| chief2_position = Board
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| website = {{Official website|www.gpo.or.th}}
}}
The '''Government Pharmaceutical Organization''' (GPO) ({{langx|th|องค์การเภสัชกรรม}}; {{RTGS|''Ongkan Phesatchakam''}}) is a Thai [[state enterprise]] which manufactures pharmaceutical products in Thailand. In 2011, the GPO netted a profit of 1.6 billion [[Thai baht|baht]] from the sale of pharmaceuticals and medical equipment.<ref name="GPO-AR2011">{{cite book|title=Annual Report, 2554/2011|publisher=Government Pharmaceutical Organization (GPO)|location=Bangkok|edition=2554/2011|url=http://www.gpo.or.th/Default.aspx?tabid=197|accessdate=5 February 2016}}</ref>{{RP|87}} As of 2011, the GPO employed 2,812 persons. In 2016, the organization produced drugs at two government-owned factories.<ref>{{cite web|title=Our Factories |url=http://www.intergpomed.com/Default.aspx?tabid=171 |website=Government Pharmaceutical Organization (GPO) |accessdate=5 February 2016 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20160205141625/http://www.intergpomed.com/Default.aspx?tabid=171 |archivedate=5 February 2016 }}</ref>
GPO makes and sells four categories of products: medicines; [[antiretroviral]]s; chemicals/test kits/natural products; and preventive medicines.<ref name="GPO-AR2011" />{{RP|55}} Besides Thailand, it markets its products in [[Nigeria]], [[Ghana]], [[Bhutan]], [[Somalia]], [[Myanmar]], [[Sri Lanka]], [[Malaysia]], [[Cambodia]], and [[Vietnam]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Company Overview of The Government Pharmaceutical Organization|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/research/stocks/private/snapshot.asp?privcapid=13504670|website=Bloomberg Business|accessdate=5 February 2016}}</ref>
The GPO gives Thailand significant leverage in its price negotiations with foreign drug suppliers.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Fuller|first1=Thomas|title=Thailand takes on drug industry, and may be winning|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/11/world/asia/11iht-pharma.4.5240049.html|accessdate=10 May 2018|work=New York Times|date=2007-04-11}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Thailand to sell generic Viagra drug: officials|url=https://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-09-thailand-viagra-drug.html|accessdate=10 May 2018|work=Medical Press|agency=AFP|date=September 26, 2012}}</ref>
{{Asof|2018}}, GPO's chairman is Dr Sopon Mekthon,<ref name="Nation-20181019" /> who took over from Dr Nopporn Cheanklin.<ref>{{cite web|title=Interview: Dr. Nopporn Cheanklin – Managing Director, The Government Pharmaceutical Organization, Thailand|url=http://pharmaboardroom.com/interviews/interview-dr-nopporn-cheanklin-managing-director-the-government-pharmaceutical-organization-thailand/|website=PharmaBoardroom|accessdate=5 February 2016}}</ref>
==Missions==
GPO's mission statement contains four objectives.<ref>{{cite web |title=Vision and Missions |url=https://www.gpo.or.th/Default.aspx?tabid=195&language=en-US |website=Government Pharmaceutical Organization (GPO) |accessdate=3 November 2018}}</ref> One of them is to "To maintain price level of pharmaceutical products and medical supplies necessary for the Thai society to ensure people's accessibility." As an example, GPO will produce the antiretroviral drug [[efavirenz]] after receiving [[World Health Organization|WHO]] approval. GPO's product costs 180 [[Thai baht|baht]] per bottle of thirty 600&nbsp;mg tablets. The imported version retails for more than 1,000 baht per bottle. GPO will devote 2.5 percent of its manufacturing capacity to make 42 million efavirenz pills in 2018, allowing it to serve export markets as well as domestic. The Philippines alone will order about 300,000 bottles of efavirenz for 51 million baht.<ref name=BP-20181103>{{cite news |last1=Wipatayotin |first1=Apinya |title=Thailand gets nod to make HIV/Aids drug |url=https://www.bangkokpost.com/news/general/1569426/thailand-gets-nod-to-make-hiv-aids-drug |accessdate=3 November 2018 |work=Bangkok Post |date=3 November 2018}}</ref>
==Compulsory licensing==
The GPO is permitted to produce efavirenz and two other patented medications by having sought [[compulsory license|compulsory licensing]] (CL) under the provisions of the [[WTO]] agreement on intellectual property, the [[Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights]] (TRIPs). Under a compulsory license, an individual or company seeking to use another's intellectual property can do so—for good reasons—without seeking the rights holder's consent, and pays the rights holder a set fee for the license. This is an exception to the general rule under intellectual property laws that the intellectual property owner enjoys exclusive rights that it may license—or decline to license—to others. In the case of efavirenz, the patent owner, [[Merck & Co.|Merck]], and the [[Office of the United States Trade Representative|US Trade Representative]], for years fiercely resisted allowing the GPO to produce the drug.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Wetzler |first1=Jennryn |last2=Mankad |first2=Mihir |last3=Burrowbridge |first3=Adam |title=Timeline for US-Thailand Compulsory License Dispute (v. 3) |url=http://infojustice.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/pijip-thailand-timeline.pdf |website=infojustice.org |publisher=Program on Information Justice and Intellectual Property (PIJIP) |accessdate=4 November 2018 |date=April 2009}}</ref>
==Products==<!--The GPO website has a Products page but does not allow Thailand ISPs to load it. So if you are outside Thailand and interested, please visit GPO and add to this list of products. Thanx.-->
===Sidegra===
* Sidegra ([[Sildenafil]]) in 50 and 100&nbsp;mg tablets.{{Citation needed|date=August 2019}}
===Medical marijuana===
GPO produces cannabinoid medicines at its factory in [[Pathum Thani Province]], where it also grows cannabis plants. The organisation is also seeking approval to build a three billion baht, {{convert|1500|rai|ha acre|lk=in|adj=on}}, herb and marijuana facility in [[Chonburi Province]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Legalisation of marijuana boosts organisations’ interest in research |url=https://www.nationthailand.com/national/30368953 |accessdate=19 August 2019 |work=The Nation |date=6 May 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Thailand to start testing medical marijuana on patients |url=https://www.nationthailand.com/national/30365438 |accessdate=19 August 2019 |work=The Nation |agency=Agence France-Presse |date=8 March 2019}}</ref>
The GPO led an effort to convince the military government to approve [[marijuana]] research so that the GPO can market it for medical use. The move would make Thailand the first country in Asia to legalize medical cannabis. Dr. Nopporn Cheanklin, managing director of the GPO, said that, "The best strains of [[cannabis]] in the world 20 years ago were from Thailand, and now Canada has developed this strain..., we can't claim that ours is the best in the world anymore,...That's why we must develop our strain to...compete with theirs."{{Citation needed|date=December 2018}} The government's cabinet of ministers in May 2018 gave the green light to amend the country's drug laws to allow research on medicinal marijuana. The bill is currently being debated in the [[National Legislative Assembly of Thailand (2014)|National Legislative Assembly]]. Current Thai laws are tough on both the sale and use of marijuana. Possession of cannabis in Thailand could land its owner in jail for up to 15 years as the plant is a category-5 narcotic drug along with psychoactive mushrooms and [[Mitragyna speciosa|kratom]], a psychoactive plant similar to [[opiate]]s that is native to Thailand.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Chuwiruch |first1=Natnicha |title=Thailand Wants to Have Its (Hash) Cake and Eat It Too |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-07-16/singapore-s-lead-over-malaysia-s-economy-is-shrinking-chart |accessdate=17 July 2018 |work=Bloomberg |date=17 July 2018}}</ref> A researcher at [[Chulalongkorn University]] has pointed out that Thailand has 200,000 [[Alzheimer's]] patients and 150,000 [[Parkinson's]] patients who could benefit from medical marijuana.<ref name="Nation-20181019">{{cite news |title=Notice from FDA quickest way to legalise marijuana, says GPO chairman |url=http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/national/30356742 |accessdate=19 October 2018 |work=The Nation |date=19 October 2018}}</ref>
== See also ==
* [[Health in Thailand]]
* [[Krisana Kraisintu]]
* [[Ministry of Public Health (Thailand)]]
==References==
{{reflist}}
==External links==
*[http://www.gpo.or.th/Default.aspx?tabid=194&language=en-US GPO Website]
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[[Category:State enterprises of Thailand]]
[[Category:Pharmaceutical companies of Thailand]]
[[Category:Manufacturing companies based in Bangkok]]