E-drug: Re: SA Prices of ddi, d4T and Combivir remain high
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Pharmacy practice in South Africa is to apply a 50% mark-up on wholesale
cost which the above figures bear out. However retail pharmacies by and
large tend to primarily service patients who are Medical Scheme members,
such persons obtaining a negotiated discount averaging some 20%. Thus
private sector prices would rather be as follows:-
Videx/ddI 150mg/60tabs ZAR 522.03 $2.14 day
Zerit/d4T 40mg/60tabs ZAR 1252.54 $5.12 day
Combivir 60tabs ZAR 1368.00 $5.60 day
The pharmacy charging basis is scheduled to change shortly to a single
professional fee per item which at the level presently indicated would
reduce the above prices by 12-15%.
Medscheme, the largest medical aid administrator in South Africa
currently operates an Aid for AIDS programme servicing some 10,000
patients currently with ARVs. BMS has advised that it will not
extend its offer to them which makes it unlikely that the private sector
as a whole will benefit.
Medical schemes only service about 6,000,000 of the country's 40,000,000
people and the incidence of HIV/AIDS within that group is minimal
compared with the balance of the population. BMS and GSK need to
rethink their stance.
As a footnote the prices could be lowered by a further 14% if government
were to drop VAT ( value-added-tax ) on those items.
Don Black B.Sc.
Interested Observer
edbl@mweb.co.za
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