Thailand has ordered 2 million tablets of heart drug Clopidogrel from an Indian company M-cure. Clopidogrel is having similar effect as that of Plavix manufactured by Sanofi Aventis. The cost for the generic drug will be 3 cents which is much less than that of patented Plavix at $ 2 for each pill. The drug has been ordered from India under compulsory licensing.

The first shipment of 2 million tablets will be delivered within 2 months. The statement was issued by Government Pharmaceutical Organization (GMO) Chairman Vichai Chokvivat. GMO is happy to save more than 4 million dollars with this deal.

The news will be shocking for US and the Patent holder company Sanofi Aventis. The move indicates that some major Pharmaceutical companies may lose lot of money as countries may use the WTO rules to override the patents. Thailand has used the same strategy for two HIV/AIDS drugs Kaletra and Efavirenz earlier. This will be the third patented drug Thailand has issued compulsory licensing on, utilizing a clause in the World Trade Organization (WTO) rules that allows governments to break patents under emergency circumstances. Brazil has also used the same strategy to save money on health care costs.

Thailand has an estimated 600,000 HIV/AIDS patients. The country cannot afford patented drugs as it is offering free health care program to many residents.

Around 80 percent of country's population is covered by government health care scheme. Thailand will use the generic medicines for only these patients. Pharmaceutical majors suggest that such practices will discourage them from investing in research and development of new drugs and distributing them in third world markets at cheaper prices.