THE ABORTION pill, RU486, could be available in countries other than
France within a couple of years, according to Etienne-Emile Baulieu of the
Kremlin-Bicetre hospital in Paris. Baulieu, who played a key role in the
discovery and development of the drug, said that the way was now open for
Roussel-Uclaf, the French manufacturer of the drug, to pursue product licences
in countries such as Britain and Sweden, following a rethink by Hoechst,
which owns Roussel-Uclaf.
Hoechst has prevented Roussel-Uclaf from marketing the drug outside
France, reportedly because of the views of Hoechst’s chairman, Wolfgang
Hilger. Hoechst has said, however, that the decision rests with Roussel-Uclaf
(This Week, 4 November). Baulieu says that Hoechst has now told Roussel-Uclaf
that it would welcome studies into the economic, political and legal problems
of introducing RU486 into other countries. Representatives for Hoechst and
Roussel-Uclaf deny any change of attitude.
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