A law intended to let Canadian companies make generic AIDS drugs and export them to developing nations may finally be about to bear fruit. The applause that greeted the act's unanimous passage by Parliament in 2004 turned to ridicule when it became evident that its mechanisms were so cumbersome as to be almost unworkable. Even so, the government declined in December to streamline it.

On Wednesday, however, generic drug maker Apotex Inc. said it had been awarded a contract by the Rwandan government to sell its three-in-one AIDS treatment Apo Triavir to that country. Signing the contract was the last step in the long process. "We're almost there," said Elie Betito, Apotex's director of public and government affairs.

While advocates hailed the news as progress, they emphasized that Canada's Access to Medicines Regime still does not function as efficiently as they had hoped when it won passage.

"It's a terrifically important development," said Stephen Lewis, former UN special envoy for AIDS in Africa. "Should have happened three years ago. I hope it teaches the government a lesson that their wasting of time puts lives at stake."

Some fear that no other company will brave the complicated process and reach an exporting agreement. "What's terribly bitter about it is that this could be a one-off unless this system actually gets fixed, because it's unlikely that we're going to see the use of it again in its current form," said Richard Elliott, executive director of the Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network.

In fact, Betito confirmed that Apotex is not likely to make another attempt to navigate the act. "The way the legislation is done right now, I doubt if we would do this process again," he said.

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