Kaiser Daily HIV/AIDS Report - Tue,9 Oct 2001
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*Head of International Red Cross Urges Continued Focus on
HIV/AIDS in Africa
*GlaxoSmithKline to Allow Generic Production in South Africa of
Three Patented Antiretrovirals
GLOBAL CHALLENGES
Head of International Red Cross Urges Continued Focus on HIV/AIDS in
Africa
The president of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red
Crescent Societies on Thursday urged the world not to let the current
focus on terrorism detract from the ongoing problem of HIV/AIDS in
Africa, the U.N. Integrated Regional Information Netork/allAfrica.com
reports. At the start of her trip to Kenya, where roughly 600 people
die each day as a result of the epidemic, Dr. Astrid Heiberg said,
"Let us not forget that almost as many people will die in Africa this
year from HIV/AIDS as did in the entire Vietnam War, almost three
million people." The 53 societies of the International Federation
are undertaking a 10-year campaign to train two million volunteers to
combat HIV/AIDS in Africa. "[W]e aim to break the silence by overcom-
ing the stigma which still surrounds AIDS, to advocate for treatment
to allow parents to bring up their children and thus limit the number
of orphans and reduce the immensity of suffering across this great
continent," Heiberg said (U.N. IRIN/allAfrica.com, 10/4).
DRUG ACCESS
GlaxoSmithKline to Allow Generic Production in South Africa of Three
Patented Antiretrovirals
Pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline announced yesterday that it will
grant a license to South African drug maker Aspen Pharmacare to sell
generic versions of three of its patented antiretroviral drugs in
South Africa, the Wall Street Journal reports. Aspen will produce ge-
neric copies of AZT (zidovudine), 3TC (lamivudine) and Combivir (com-
bination zidovudine/lamivudine) "to the public or government sector
as well as to certain" not-for-profit organizations and charities.
GSK and Shire Pharmaceuticals, which licenses 3TC to GSK, will not
collect any royalties on the sales of the generic medicines, but As-
pen will pay a 30% fee on net sales. The money from this fee will be
allocated to "one or more" nongovernmental organizations for AIDS
education and prevention efforts (Zimmerman, Wall Street Journal,
10/8). Under the agreement, Aspen will not be allowed to sell the ge-
neric versions of the medicines to any other African country (Ness-
man, Associated Press, 10/7). Howard Pien, president of international
pharmaceuticals at GSK, said of the agreement, "We are committed to
playing a full and responsible part in the search for sustainable ap-
proaches to the health care challenges of the developing world.
Through this partnership, we seek to make a meaningful contribution
to the fight against the HIV/AIDS epidemic in South Africa" (Shah,
London Independent, 10/8).
Priced Within Reach?
Aspen has not indicated what it will charge for the generic drugs
(Wall Street Journal, 10/8). Before the agreement with Aspen, GSK had
offered Combivir to the South African public health system for ap-
proximately $2 per patient per day. South African Health Minister
Manto Tshabalala-Msimang said that "even at that price," purchasing
the antiretrovirals would "bankrupt the health department" (Associ-
ated Press, 10/7). BBC News reports that "industry sources" estimate
that Aspen will sell a generic version of Combivir for $1.80 per pa-
tient per day, generic AZT for $1.60 per patient per day and generic
3TC for 60 cents per patient per day. However, these prices are still
more than those offered by Indian drug firm Cipla Ltd. (BBC News,
10/8). In February, Cipla offered to supply "unlimited doses" of tri-
ple-drug antiretroviral cocktails to Doctors Without Borders at a
price of $350 per patient per year (Kaiser Daily HIV/AIDS Report,
2/7). GSK will continue to sell its patented versions of the antiret-
rovirals in South Africa's private sector. Pien said that GSK "isn't
really losing much" money in sales by allowing Aspen to produce the
medicines because South Africa's public sector does not constitute a
large market for the company.
Aspen on the Go
Earlier this year, drug firm Bristol-Myers Squibb said that it
"wouldn't sue Aspen" if it produced generic versions of Bristol-
Myers' antiretrovirals Zerit and Videx. However, this offer "fell
short of" a license, which Aspen had been seeking. The two companies
are still negotiating on a deal and could reach a final settlement
soon, according to the Journal (Wall Street Journal, 10/8).
The Kaiser Daily HIV/AIDS Report is published for kaisernetwork.org,
a free service of The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, by National
Journal Group Inc. c 2001 by National Journal Group Inc. and Kaiser
Family Foundation. All rights reserved.
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