E-drug: Have AIDS Drug Prices for the Poor Been Slashed?
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PRESS RELEASE
M�decins Sans Fronti�res (MSF)
SIX-MONTH REPORT CARD: HAVE AIDS DRUG PRICES FOR THE POOR BEEN
"SLASHED"?
December 1st 2000, World AIDS Day, Geneva - The international medical
aid agency M�decins Sans Fronti�res (MSF) calls on multinational drug
companies to deliver on their promise to drastically reduce AIDS drug
prices. On May 11th 2000, The Wall Street Journal reported that
UNAIDS and five drug companies (1) were offering "to slash the prices
of HIV drugs for people living in poor countries." According to the
article,
exact prices were supposed to be settled upon in the weeks to come.
More than six months later, there is still little progress on the
promised discount (see Report Card below).
As a first step, MSF calls on the five multinational drug companies to
immediately reduce the price of their AIDS drugs in poor countries by
95 per cent. In practise, this means that Glaxo Wellcome should make
its drug AZT/3TC available for US$1.00 a day against its current
$19.60, Bristol-Myers Squibb should charge $0.49 a day for d4T against
the present $9.80, and Merck $0.65 for efavirenz, which now costs
$13.20. Major discounts for poor countries should be similar to those
already in place for vaccines and contraceptives. The polio vaccine,
for example, is sold to UN agencies for $0.09 while it costs $10.93
in the US (2).
"95 per cent of people living with HIV/AIDS dwell in poor countries
and cannot afford medicines that could prolong and improve the
quality of their lives. We challenge the drug companies to deliver on
their promises and publicly respond to this demand by the first week
of 2001", says Dr. Bernard P�coul, director of MSF's Access to
Essential Medicines Campaign.
Countries that have not waited for large multinationals to lower
prices have already brought down the cost of antiretroviral drugs
dramatically, as MSF research (2) shows. Brazil is the most striking
example of how local generic drug production can reduce prices. Due
to the introduction of less expensive generics, as many as 1000
HIV/AIDS patients are being treated in Brazil for the price of
treating only 228 in Uganda.
The Brazilian approach has been to import the best quality generic raw
materials and locally manufacture finished products. Countries such as
Burkina Faso, Cambodia, Guatemala, South Africa and Uganda have been
speaking both to Brazilian and Indian generic manufacturers that can
sell the products at true discounted prices. Brazil has also been
discussing technology transfer with other developing countries, so
that they can begin producing their own quality medicines.
The UNAIDS company initiative requires countries to negotiate with
each of the multinational companies for each of the drugs they
produce. This system diverts precious human resources from national
AIDS programmes, whereas real across-the-board price reductions would
benefit people immediately.
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M�decins Sans Fronti�res has HIV/AIDS programmes in more than 20
countries. Traditionally, MSF has focused on reducing the stigma of
people with HIV/AIDS, as well as on prevention and pain alleviation.
More recently, the organisation has expanded its approach to encompass
preventing transmission from mother to child, and preventing and
treating opportunistic infections in HIV-infected people. Small-scale
antiretroviral programs are being or will be launched in Thailand,
Guatemala, El Salvador, Cameroon, South Africa, and Cambodia.
Six-month Report Card - UNAIDS five company Accelerated Access
Programme
Number of countries that have negotiated price reductions to date
One (Senegal)
Number of people with HIV in sub-Saharan Africa
26 million
Number of patients that will benefit once this programme in Senegal is
implemented (according to UNAIDS)
Approximately 900
Number of patients that Brazil has put on antiretroviral therapy by
using affordable generic medicines
More than 90,000
Amount that prices of generic antiretrovirals have fallen because of
introduction of generics in Brazil (1996-2000)
79%
Amount of money Brazil has saved on hospitalisations and treatments
for opportunistic infections avoided by successful use of
antiretroviral therapy (1997 - 1999)
$472 million
Annual cost of triple combination in the US
$10 000 -15 000
Annual cost of triple combination offered by a generic Indian
manufacturer (quality meeting international standards)
$800-1000
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1) Boehringer Ingelheim, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Glaxo Wellcome, Merck
& Co., Inc., and F. Hoffmann-La Roche.
2) HIV/AIDS medicines pricing report. Setting objectives: is there a
political will? MSF, July 6th 2000.