The Chicago Tribune‘s Tom Hamburger reports that several global health advocacy organizations, including Doctors without Borders and OxFam International, have criticized the Obama administration for not helping to remove Bush-era impediments (primarily regarding pharmaceutical patent enforcement) to cheaper drugs overseas. Advocates claim officials are unwilling to confront major pharmaceutical companies at a time when their cooperation is needed in negotiations surrounding health care reform. For their part, administration officials point out that language in their reports has softened somewhat from that of the previous administration.
