Husband sells Stars Wars collection to raise funds for wife’s cancer treatment

KUALA LUMPUR — Many people have hobbies. Some collect stamps, some collect coins and bank notes, and some collect Lego sets. For many, these collections become their prized possessions.

So it’s quite touching when someone does what Mohamad Shahril Sabari, better known as Victor Engku Shah, is doing: selling off his Star Wars Lego collection every Sunday at the Amcorp Mall flea market to raise funds for the cancer treatments of his wife, Noor Azra Kamaruddin.

I’d heard about Victor and his stall through LCMLUG, a Lego group I’m part of on Facebook. His love and sacrifice for Noor Azra is certainly admirable, respectable and definitely worth supporting.

I met up with him through Daniel Goh of Brick Sanctuary and learned why he comes up from Seremban to Petaling Jaya every Sunday to sell off his prized collection.

“I began collecting Star Wars Lego sets in 2010, and I married Noor Azra on April 24, 2015. Two weeks later, she noticed a bump on her neck and went to get it checked out at a clinic. The clinic referred her to a hospital for follow-up checks, and we went to KPJ Seremban where a CT scan was done.

“The CT scan found a lump in her neck and a follow-up biopsy determined that she had lymphoma,” said Victor.

He added that doctors advised Noor Azra to begin chemotherapy treatments, and with the treatments, more challenges were in store for the couple in July 2015.

“Noor Azra was two months pregnant. We were so happy, but our happiness was short-lived. Doctors advised Noor Azra to have an abortion prior to chemotherapy as the risks were too great for her and the child. She went through the abortion with a very heavy heart and then began her chemotherapy,” said Victor.

Victor ultimately had to leave his job as a finance officer in the private sector to help Noor Azra full-time with her cancer treatments, adding that this was when he began selling off his collection at Amcorp Mall.

“Each dose of the chemotherapy drugs is about RM5,000 (P57,449). Noor Azra needs 12 sessions –once every two weeks–and the estimated total cost comes up to RM60,000 (P689,391),” said Victor.

He added that he had to raise funds because their insurance only covered RM70,000 (P804,290) worth of treatments per year, while the biopsy cost RM25,000 (P287,246).

“Thankfully, I have been able to work things out with the help from my friends in LBK Malaysia, Lego Auction Group MY and LCMLUG. They have helped out with contributions of financial support and even Lego items for me to auction off,” said Victor.

So, with Lego now being touted as a “better investment than gold,” why not help out Victor Engku Shah while buying a possibly profitable wallet-booster while you’re at it?

He can be found on Amcorp Mall’s second floor every Sunday, or contacted via his Facebook account, Victor Engku Shah.

source: lifestyle.inquirer.net

India court blocks Bayer generic drug appeal

New Delhi, India - An Indian court has rejected German drug giant Bayer's bid to block a generic version of its blockbuster cancer treatment Nexavar by a local drug maker, a move hailed by activists on Saturday.

The judges rejected an appeal by Bayer on Friday that contested a March 2012 decision by India's patent controller, who had argued the price charged by Bayer for the liver and kidney drug -- $5,500-per-person, per month in India -- was far too costly for most Indians.

Medicins San Frontieres (MSF) on Saturday hailed the ruling, calling it a boost for public health.

The court's decision "demonstrates the independence of the Indian judiciary" in upholding the nation's right to legislate "with public health interests in mind", said Leena Menghaney, South Asia regional head of the medical charity's access campaign.

The court judgment highlighted India's "critical role" in "balancing intellectual property and public health", she said, adding it was clear to the court Bayer had recouped its drug research and development costs in just one year.

The Indian government gave local pharmaceutical house Natco Pharma a license to produce a copy of life-extending Nexavar at a 97-percent discount to the original price of the Bayer medicine in India.

"We are analyzing the (court) order and will determine any future course of action afterwards," Bayer said in a statement, adding the ruling "disappointed" the company.

The ruling could stoke tensions further with Western-based big pharmaceutical companies who say India flouts international patent protection law.

India says it is fully compliant with World Trade Organization patent rules. But the United States has already put India on a "watchlist" of intellectual property violators.

Since India's new right-wing government came to power in May, New Delhi has been under heavy pressure from Washington, prodded by the powerful US pharmaceutical industry, to dilute its strict patent laws.

Indian law stipulates drugs must "satisfy the test of novelty or inventiveness" to win patent protection and does not allow minor tweaks, called "evergreening," to prolong patent life.

Western companies say India's powerhouse generics industry and stringent patent filtering reduce commercial incentives to produce cutting-edge medicines.

India'a Lawyers' Collective, another rights group, said  the "momentous" judgment held wide-ranging implications for access to other medicines.

India's vast generics industry is a major supplier of cheap copycat, life-saving drugs to treat diabetes, cancer and other diseases afflicting people locally and globally who cannot afford expensive branded versions.

But health economists say it doesn't matter how far drug prices drop in India for some of the 1.25-billion population, as they are too desperately poor to afford them. India is home to one-third of the world's poorest, according to the World Bank. — Agence France-Presse


source: gmanetwork.com