Fire In The Blood
The harsh story of how Western pharmaceutical companies and governments blocked access to low-cost AIDS drugs for the countries of the global south in the mid-nineties.
Modern medicine is one of humanity’s greatest achievements. The discovery of penicillin made once-fatal infections easily curable, and global vaccination schemes have all but eradicated smallpox – a dreadful disease, terminal in up to one-third of cases. But worldwide efforts to stamp out disease are the exception rather than the rule. Pharmaceutical company profits depend on setting high prices for life-saving drugs, so medical breakthroughs often fail to help the poor.
Filmmaker Dylan Mohan Gray is on a crusade against the pharmaceutical industry’s profits-first approach. He powerfully interweaves the history of AIDS treatment with in-depth interviews of politicians, physicians, activists, and CEOs, juxtaposing the stories of impoverished communities devastated by the disease with those of HIV-positive individuals who survived because they could afford the medications that keep the virus in check. As the film makes clear, this story is by no means over. Indeed, this intricate tale of medicine, monopoly and malice is starting all over again now with the production of vaccines for covid-19.
Speakers for the discussion are Ellen 't Hoen - an independent medicines law and policy consultant - and Remco van Pas, public health specialist and global health scholar. With reservations, filmmaker Dylan Mohan Gray will also be present for the discussion, via Zoom.