An embassy's Dutch drug war

The U.S. is chastising the Dutch government, arguing that its policies undermine the patent rights of American drug makers. Specifically, the U.S. embassy in the Netherlands issued a scathing missive, saying Dutch officials were wrong to plan on expanding compulsory licensing and pharmaceutical compounding, STAT’s Ed Silverman writes.

This would “send a clear message” to companies that patents in the Netherlands “can be undermined or circumvented for short-term financial benefits,” the ambassador claims.

Consumer advocates aren’t backing the embassy, however — saying, among other things, that it “gives the impression of cheap copies of patented medicines flooding the market.”