MSF: Newer AIDS Drugs Not Available in Africa
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For Immediate Release
Newer AIDS Drugs Not Available in Africa
Abuja, Nigeria, December 8, 2005 - - Newer AIDS drugs and formu-
lations of existing drugs are urgently needed in Africa but are
not available because brand name companies are choosing not to
sell them and there are no generic versions, according to the
international medical humanitarian organization Doctors Without
Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF).
At the International Conference on AIDS and Sexually Transmitted
Infections in Africa (ICASA) in Abuja, Nigeria, the World Health
Organization (WHO) laid out new HIV/AIDS treatment guidelines,
which included several drugs that are not available in Africa.
One example is the antiretroviral (ARV) medicine lopinavir / ri-
tonavir, marketed by the US pharmaceutical firm Abbott as Kale-
tra. Abbott recently launched a new formulation of the drug,
which unlike the old one, does not require refrigeration. Al-
though this new version would be very useful in most African
settings, it is not available on the continent. 'To date Abbott
has not communicated any plans to market this new drug here or
in other countries in Africa,' said Philomena Orji, an MSF phar-
macist in Nigeria. 'Considering the hot temperatures and con-
stant blackouts in Lagos, this new formulation could really make
a critical difference.'
The new WHO guidelines also add tenofovir to the list of recom-
mended drugs. Tenofovir has significantly fewer side effects
than some older treatments, but it too is not available in Af-
rica. Gilead, the company that markets the drug, claims that it
is available at a discounted price in 98 countries. According to
the WHO, though, the company has only managed to register the
drug in six developing countries. Although Gilead first an-
nounced a lower price for some developing countries in April
2003, in South Africa, the registration process was not properly
submitted until September 2005.
Price remains a huge challenge. In South Africa, MSF pays $194
per patient per year for standard first-line therapy. However,
with side effects and the natural development of drug resis-
tance, many patients eventually need to change to a newer, sec-
ond-line treatment, which is eight times more expensive, at
$1,661 per patient per year.
MSFs project in Khayelitsha, South Africa, is an indicator of
future trends elsewhere in Africa. Seventeen percent of patients
that have been on treatment for four years require second-line
treatment. 'Khayelitsha is a window into the future of AIDS
treatment,' explains Dr. Eric Goemaere, head of mission for MSF
in South Africa. 'If we don't get access to these newer drugs at
reasonable prices, the result could be catastrophic for Africa.
Patients whose lives had been saved by first-line treatment will
be abandoned the moment they need second-line drugs. We need
more affordable drugs produced by more companies.'
This week, access to affordable sources of new medicines was
further restricted by a World Trade Organization decision to es-
tablish complex procedures for exporting generic versions of
patented drugs.
MSF currently provides ARV treatment to over 57,000 people liv-
ing with HIV/AIDS in 29 countries. In Nigeria, MSF is treating
more than 950 patients with ARVs in a comprehensive care clinic
in Lagos.
For more information contact Kevin Phelan at +1-212-655-3763
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Rachel M. Cohen
U.S. Director, Campaign for Access to Essential Medicines
Doctors Without Borders/ Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF)
333 Seventh Avenue, 2nd Floor
New York, NY 10001-5004, USA
Tel: +1-212-655-3762
Fax: +1-212-679-7016
Mobile: +1-917-331-9077
mailto:rachel.cohen@newyork.msf.org
http://www.doctorswithoutborders.org
http://www.accessmed-msf.org