双语新闻：南非和哥伦比亚的目标是，获得治疗结核病和艾滋病的廉价药物
South Africa and Colombia are among the countries aiming to push drug companies to permit low-cost versions of drugs for deadly diseases. The drugs are for people with drug-resistant versions of tuberculosis (TB) and with HIV/AIDS.
南非和哥伦比亚等国正努力推动制药公司允许生产治疗致命疾病的低成本药物。这些药物是为耐药结核病和艾滋病毒/艾滋病患者提供的。
One target is the drug bedaquiline. It is used for treating people with drug-resistant tuberculosis. In South Africa, TB was blamed for the deaths of more than 50,000 people in 2021, making it the country's leading cause of death.
其中一个目标是药物贝达喹啉。它用于治疗耐药结核病患者。在南非，结核病被认为是2021年造成5万多人死亡的原因，使其成为该国的主要死因。
Johnson & Johnson is a U.S.-based drug and medical technology company. The company owns a patent for the drug bedaquiline. Patents legally protect a company's right to manufacture and sell a product that it developed or owns for a limited time. The legal protection prevents other companies from making the same drug without permission.
强生公司是一家总部位于美国的药品和医疗技术公司。该公司拥有药物贝达喹啉的专利。专利在法律上保护公司在有限时间内制造和销售其开发或拥有的产品的权利。法律保护防止其他公司未经许可生产相同的药物。
In recent months, activists have protested efforts by Johnson & Johnson to protect its patent. In March, TB patients asked the Indian government to make a lower cost copy of bedaquiline. The government agreed, saying Johnson & Johnson's patent could be broken.
最近几个月，活动人士抗议强生公司保护其专利的努力。今年3月，结核病患者要求印度政府生产低成本的贝达喹啉。政府表示同意，称强生公司的专利可能会被破坏。
In July, the time limit for Johnson & Johnson's patent on the drug ran out in South Africa. The company extended the patent until 2027 under South African law. However, activists became angry and accused Johnson & Johnson of trying to make a lot of money from the drug.
今年7月，强生公司在南非对这种药物的专利期限已经到期。根据南非法律，该公司将专利延长至2027年。然而，活动人士非常愤怒，指责强生公司试图从这种药物中牟取暴利。
The South African government then began investigating the company's pricing policies. South Africa had been paying about $282 per treatment course: a full group of treatments. This was more than twice as much as poor countries involved in the Swiss-based Stop TB Partnership paid.
南非政府随后开始调查该公司的定价政策。南非一直在为每个疗程支付282美元的费用，这是一组完整的治疗。这是参与瑞士控制结核病伙伴关系的贫穷国家支付的两倍多。
In September, about a week after South Africa's investigation began, Johnson & Johnson announced it would not enforce its patent in more than 130 countries. This would permit other drug makers in those countries to copy the drug.
今年9月，在南非展开调查大约一周后，强生公司宣布，将不会在130多个国家执行其专利。这将允许这些国家的其他制药商仿制这种药物。
Christophe Perrin is a TB expert at Doctors Without Borders. He called the decision "a big surprise." He said protecting patents is central to how most drug companies plan their businesses.
克里斯托弗·佩兰是无国界医生组织的结核病专家。他称这一决定是“一个巨大的惊喜”。他说，保护专利是大多数制药公司规划业务的核心。
In October, Colombia announced that it would permit a third party to make the HIV drug dolutegravir without permission from the drug's patent-holder, Viiv Healthcare. The decision came after more than 120 groups asked the government to let more people use the drug, which is supported by the World Health Organization (WHO).
今年10月，哥伦比亚宣布，它将允许第三方生产抗艾滋病药物dolutegravir，而无需获得该药物的专利持有人Viiv Healthcare的许可。这一决定是在120多个团体要求政府允许更多人使用这种药物之后做出的，这种药物得到了世界卫生组织的支持。
Peter Maybarduk is with the Washington, D.C., non-profit group Public Citizen. He thinks the Colombian government is trying to take control of its treatment of HIV after not having enough vaccines for COVID-19. He noted that Brazilian activists are pushing their government to do the same.
Peter Maybarduk就职于华盛顿特区非营利组织Public Citizen。他认为，在没有足够的COVID-19疫苗后，哥伦比亚政府正试图控制艾滋病的治疗。他指出，巴西活动人士正在推动他们的政府做同样的事情。
More changes needed
需要更多的改变
However, some experts say more needs to change before poor countries can produce their own medicines.
然而，一些专家表示，在贫穷国家能够生产自己的药物之前，还需要做出更多的改变。
Petro Terblanche is managing director of the biotechnology company Afrigen Biologics based in Cape Town, South Africa. She said African countries produced less than one percent of all vaccines made around the world when the COVID-19 pandemic hit. But, Terblanche said, Africa used more than half of the world's supply.
Petro Terblanche是总部位于南非开普敦的生物技术公司Afrigen Biologics的总经理。她说，当COVID-19大流行来袭时，非洲国家生产的疫苗不到全球总产量的1%。但是，特布兰奇说，非洲使用了世界上一半以上的供应。
Afrigen Biologics is part of a WHO-supported effort to produce a COVID vaccine using the same mRNA technology as those made by U.S.-based drug makers Pfizer and Moderna.
Afrigen Biologics是世卫组织支持的使用与美国辉瑞制药公司和Moderna制药公司相同的mRNA技术生产新冠病毒疫苗的努力的一部分。
Terblanche also noted that African countries need to improve their ability to deliver vaccines. "If we can't get (vaccines and medicines) to the people who need them, they aren't useful," she said.
Terblanche还指出，非洲国家需要提高提供疫苗的能力。她说:“如果我们不能把(疫苗和药物)送到需要它们的人手中，它们就没有用处。”
Lynette Keneilwe Mabote-Eyde is a health care activist who has ties to the nonprofit Treatment Action Group based in New York City. She noted that South Africa has no clear law permitting the government to take legal action against a patent or a patent extension.
Lynette Keneilwe Mabote-Eyde是一名卫生保健活动家，她与纽约市的非营利治疗行动组织有联系。她指出，南非没有明确的法律允许政府对专利或专利延期采取法律行动。
The South African department of health did not answer questions from the Associated Press about patents.
南非卫生部没有回答美联社关于专利的问题。
Fighting tuberculosis
对抗结核
In its yearly report on TB released in November, the WHO said there were more than 10 million people sickened by the disease in 2022 and 1.3 million deaths.
世界卫生组织在11月发布的结核病年度报告中表示，2022年有超过1000万人感染结核病，130万人死亡。
After COVID-19, tuberculosis is the world's deadliest infectious disease. It is also now believed to be the main cause of death of people with HIV. The WHO says only about 40 percent of people with drug-resistant TB are being treated.
继2019冠状病毒病之后，结核病是世界上最致命的传染病。它现在也被认为是艾滋病毒感染者死亡的主要原因。世界卫生组织表示，只有大约40%的耐药结核病患者得到了治疗。
Zolelwa Sifumba, a South African doctor, found she had drug-resistant TB in 2012. She went through 18 months of treatment, taking about 20 pills every day in addition to daily injections. These left her in severe pain and resulted in some hearing loss. Bedaquiline was not a standard treatment in South Africa until 2018.
南非医生Zolelwa Sifumba在2012年发现自己患有耐药结核病。她经历了18个月的治疗，每天服用大约20片药片，每天注射。这给她带来了严重的疼痛，并导致了一些听力损失。直到2018年，贝达喹啉才成为南非的标准治疗药物。
"I wanted to quit (treatment) every single day," she said. Since her recovery, Sifumba has been pushing for better TB treatment. She said it makes little sense to charge poor countries, which have more cases of TB, high prices for necessary medicines.
她说:“我每天都想戒掉(治疗)。自康复以来，Sifumba一直在推动更好的结核病治疗。她说，向有更多结核病病例的贫穷国家收取必要药物的高价是没有意义的。
She questioned why poor countries would have to pay a lot for medicine. "If the lower income countries can't get it, then what's the point? Who are you making it for?" she said.
她质疑为什么贫穷国家要为药品支付高额费用。“如果低收入国家得不到，那还有什么意义?”你是为谁做的?”她说。
南非和哥伦比亚等国正努力推动制药公司允许生产治疗致命疾病的低成本药物。这些药物是为耐药结核病和艾滋病毒/艾滋病患者提供的。
One target is the drug bedaquiline. It is used for treating people with drug-resistant tuberculosis. In South Africa, TB was blamed for the deaths of more than 50,000 people in 2021, making it the country's leading cause of death.
其中一个目标是药物贝达喹啉。它用于治疗耐药结核病患者。在南非，结核病被认为是2021年造成5万多人死亡的原因，使其成为该国的主要死因。
Johnson & Johnson is a U.S.-based drug and medical technology company. The company owns a patent for the drug bedaquiline. Patents legally protect a company's right to manufacture and sell a product that it developed or owns for a limited time. The legal protection prevents other companies from making the same drug without permission.
强生公司是一家总部位于美国的药品和医疗技术公司。该公司拥有药物贝达喹啉的专利。专利在法律上保护公司在有限时间内制造和销售其开发或拥有的产品的权利。法律保护防止其他公司未经许可生产相同的药物。
In recent months, activists have protested efforts by Johnson & Johnson to protect its patent. In March, TB patients asked the Indian government to make a lower cost copy of bedaquiline. The government agreed, saying Johnson & Johnson's patent could be broken.
最近几个月，活动人士抗议强生公司保护其专利的努力。今年3月，结核病患者要求印度政府生产低成本的贝达喹啉。政府表示同意，称强生公司的专利可能会被破坏。
In July, the time limit for Johnson & Johnson's patent on the drug ran out in South Africa. The company extended the patent until 2027 under South African law. However, activists became angry and accused Johnson & Johnson of trying to make a lot of money from the drug.
今年7月，强生公司在南非对这种药物的专利期限已经到期。根据南非法律，该公司将专利延长至2027年。然而，活动人士非常愤怒，指责强生公司试图从这种药物中牟取暴利。
The South African government then began investigating the company's pricing policies. South Africa had been paying about $282 per treatment course: a full group of treatments. This was more than twice as much as poor countries involved in the Swiss-based Stop TB Partnership paid.
南非政府随后开始调查该公司的定价政策。南非一直在为每个疗程支付282美元的费用，这是一组完整的治疗。这是参与瑞士控制结核病伙伴关系的贫穷国家支付的两倍多。
In September, about a week after South Africa's investigation began, Johnson & Johnson announced it would not enforce its patent in more than 130 countries. This would permit other drug makers in those countries to copy the drug.
今年9月，在南非展开调查大约一周后，强生公司宣布，将不会在130多个国家执行其专利。这将允许这些国家的其他制药商仿制这种药物。
Christophe Perrin is a TB expert at Doctors Without Borders. He called the decision "a big surprise." He said protecting patents is central to how most drug companies plan their businesses.
克里斯托弗·佩兰是无国界医生组织的结核病专家。他称这一决定是“一个巨大的惊喜”。他说，保护专利是大多数制药公司规划业务的核心。
In October, Colombia announced that it would permit a third party to make the HIV drug dolutegravir without permission from the drug's patent-holder, Viiv Healthcare. The decision came after more than 120 groups asked the government to let more people use the drug, which is supported by the World Health Organization (WHO).
今年10月，哥伦比亚宣布，它将允许第三方生产抗艾滋病药物dolutegravir，而无需获得该药物的专利持有人Viiv Healthcare的许可。这一决定是在120多个团体要求政府允许更多人使用这种药物之后做出的，这种药物得到了世界卫生组织的支持。
Peter Maybarduk is with the Washington, D.C., non-profit group Public Citizen. He thinks the Colombian government is trying to take control of its treatment of HIV after not having enough vaccines for COVID-19. He noted that Brazilian activists are pushing their government to do the same.
Peter Maybarduk就职于华盛顿特区非营利组织Public Citizen。他认为，在没有足够的COVID-19疫苗后，哥伦比亚政府正试图控制艾滋病的治疗。他指出，巴西活动人士正在推动他们的政府做同样的事情。
More changes needed
需要更多的改变
However, some experts say more needs to change before poor countries can produce their own medicines.
然而，一些专家表示，在贫穷国家能够生产自己的药物之前，还需要做出更多的改变。
Petro Terblanche is managing director of the biotechnology company Afrigen Biologics based in Cape Town, South Africa. She said African countries produced less than one percent of all vaccines made around the world when the COVID-19 pandemic hit. But, Terblanche said, Africa used more than half of the world's supply.
Petro Terblanche是总部位于南非开普敦的生物技术公司Afrigen Biologics的总经理。她说，当COVID-19大流行来袭时，非洲国家生产的疫苗不到全球总产量的1%。但是，特布兰奇说，非洲使用了世界上一半以上的供应。
Afrigen Biologics is part of a WHO-supported effort to produce a COVID vaccine using the same mRNA technology as those made by U.S.-based drug makers Pfizer and Moderna.
Afrigen Biologics是世卫组织支持的使用与美国辉瑞制药公司和Moderna制药公司相同的mRNA技术生产新冠病毒疫苗的努力的一部分。
Terblanche also noted that African countries need to improve their ability to deliver vaccines. "If we can't get (vaccines and medicines) to the people who need them, they aren't useful," she said.
Terblanche还指出，非洲国家需要提高提供疫苗的能力。她说:“如果我们不能把(疫苗和药物)送到需要它们的人手中，它们就没有用处。”
Lynette Keneilwe Mabote-Eyde is a health care activist who has ties to the nonprofit Treatment Action Group based in New York City. She noted that South Africa has no clear law permitting the government to take legal action against a patent or a patent extension.
Lynette Keneilwe Mabote-Eyde是一名卫生保健活动家，她与纽约市的非营利治疗行动组织有联系。她指出，南非没有明确的法律允许政府对专利或专利延期采取法律行动。
The South African department of health did not answer questions from the Associated Press about patents.
南非卫生部没有回答美联社关于专利的问题。
Fighting tuberculosis
对抗结核
In its yearly report on TB released in November, the WHO said there were more than 10 million people sickened by the disease in 2022 and 1.3 million deaths.
世界卫生组织在11月发布的结核病年度报告中表示，2022年有超过1000万人感染结核病，130万人死亡。
After COVID-19, tuberculosis is the world's deadliest infectious disease. It is also now believed to be the main cause of death of people with HIV. The WHO says only about 40 percent of people with drug-resistant TB are being treated.
继2019冠状病毒病之后，结核病是世界上最致命的传染病。它现在也被认为是艾滋病毒感染者死亡的主要原因。世界卫生组织表示，只有大约40%的耐药结核病患者得到了治疗。
Zolelwa Sifumba, a South African doctor, found she had drug-resistant TB in 2012. She went through 18 months of treatment, taking about 20 pills every day in addition to daily injections. These left her in severe pain and resulted in some hearing loss. Bedaquiline was not a standard treatment in South Africa until 2018.
南非医生Zolelwa Sifumba在2012年发现自己患有耐药结核病。她经历了18个月的治疗，每天服用大约20片药片，每天注射。这给她带来了严重的疼痛，并导致了一些听力损失。直到2018年，贝达喹啉才成为南非的标准治疗药物。
"I wanted to quit (treatment) every single day," she said. Since her recovery, Sifumba has been pushing for better TB treatment. She said it makes little sense to charge poor countries, which have more cases of TB, high prices for necessary medicines.
她说:“我每天都想戒掉(治疗)。自康复以来，Sifumba一直在推动更好的结核病治疗。她说，向有更多结核病病例的贫穷国家收取必要药物的高价是没有意义的。
She questioned why poor countries would have to pay a lot for medicine. "If the lower income countries can't get it, then what's the point? Who are you making it for?" she said.
她质疑为什么贫穷国家要为药品支付高额费用。“如果低收入国家得不到，那还有什么意义?”你是为谁做的?”她说。
