E-DRUG: BBC& Reuters: Brazil reaches Kaletra [lopinovir] patent deal
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The Brazilian government and Abbot Laboratories have reached an agreement
on Kaletra, with Brazil deciding NOT to break the patent. The BBC story
mentions that Brazil "will have access to Kaletra's next new formula", but
this isn't explained. The Reuters story (below) provides numbers
(unconfirmed by Abbott): current price of Kaletra is $1.17/tablet, with
patient numbers expected to increase from 23,400 patients currently to
60,000 in 6 years' time.
Libby Levison
Public Health Consultant
"Libby Levison" <libby@theplateau.com>
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/world/americas/4662877.stm
Published: 2005/07/09 01:46:58 GMT
Brazil reaches drug patent deal
Brazil has decided not to break the patent on a key HIV/Aids drug after its
US manufacturer agreed to reduce the drug's price over the next six years.
The Brazilian government and Abbott Laboratories reached the agreement
after 10 days of talks.
Brazil had said it would start making a cheaper generic version of the
drug, Kaletra, increasing pressure on the manufacturer to cut its price.
As part of the deal, Brazil will have access to Kaletra's next new formula.
Brazil currently pays Abbott $107m (£61.3m) a year for Kaletra, which it
provides to patients for free.
Abbott has agreed that Brazil can treat more patients with no overall
increase in costs, in effect reducing the price of the drug and saving the
government more than $250m over the next six years.
The manufacturer had said Brazil enjoyed the most generous pricing
agreement of any country outside Africa.
It argued that if patents were broken, pharmaceutical companies would be
deterred from investing in further research.
Trade rules
Brazil has reached similar agreements with pharmaceutical companies in the
past after threatening to break patents.
Kaletra is one of the most widely used anti-retroviral drugs, which are
essential to the treatment of HIV.
The case is being followed closely in the developing world, where about 36
million people have the HIV virus.
The government's last-minute change of heart is sure to anger HIV campaign
groups, says the BBC's Steve Kingstone in Sao Paulo.
They had urged Brazil to break the patent, arguing that this would be legal
under World Trade Organization rules and would help bring down worldwide
prices for anti-retroviral drugs.