E-drug: Information on drug licenses
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Dear E-druggers,
Glaxo-Wellcome has been applauded by WHO for the special price of
Retrovir (zidovudine) provided to pregnant women in developing
countries. This seems a good opportunity to re-open the question of
zidovudine's price. I know just a part of the whole story: zidovudine
was tested in the 1960s as an anti-cancer drug, then forgotten, until it
was developed as an anti-HIV drug in the 1980s with NIH support.
Retrovir has been launched in 1987 after only two years of R&D and
the license will expire in 2005 in most countries. The high price of
Retrovir is a public health concern and there seems to be no good
reason for it. There may be other producers of zidovudine elsewhere
(Barr in USA, Apotex in Canada...) but do they produce? It is not clear
to me and important details are missing in this story. I would
appreciate more information on this topic.
Thank you for your help.
Pierre Chirac
Pharmacist
France
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