The six-day International AIDS Conference (IAC) will examine Thailand's ground-breaking generic anti-retroviral (ARV) program, along with the threat posed to it by a looming free-trade agreement with the United States, they said.

"There will be a lot of discussion on the need for cheaper drugs and the need to protect intellectual property rights," IAC co-chair Joep Lange told reporters Wednesday.

"If you really want to treat millions of people in resource-poor countries then there is going to be no other solution than having branded companies and generic companies working together to meet demand," he said.

The Thai government has repeatedly come under fire from US drug giants over its ARV program, which distributes cheap generic drugs to Thais living with the virus and to some neighbouring countries.

Last December, the Thai health ministry announced plans to provide ARV medicines to 50,000 patients with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, citing the increased production of the relatively cheap, locally-made treatments.

IAC community program co-chair Donald de Gagne said Wednesday that rising production could grind to a halt if the kingdom signed a trade deal with Washington.

"Thailand produces enough to look after the people that are needing the treatment right now and is treating the people from Burma (Myanmar) and Laos," said de Gagne.

"They want to scale that up and also export to other neighbouring countries and Africa, but under the US agreement that would not be possible, affecting tens of thousands of people," he said.

Negotiations to frame a free-trade pact between Thailand and the US are expected to be completed in 2005.

The 15-million-dollar conference, themed "Access for All", will bring together up to 20,000 delegates including world leaders, scientists, activists and people living with HIV-AIDS.

The Bangkok meeting is being organised by the United Nations and several non-government organisations, led by the International AIDS Society and the Thai health ministry.

Schools in Bangkok and neighbouring Nonthaburi province will be closed for the July 11-16 meeting and the government will mark the event by handing out three million free condoms.

TERRA.WIRE