E-DRUG: SA Press coverage on anti-retroviral drug prices debate
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[copied as fair use from South African newspapers;
maybe now it is time for E-druggers to discuss the move as well? WB]
12 May 2000 09:59 PM - (SA)
Health minister welcomes cut in cost of anti-Aids drugs
Johannesburg - Health Minister Manto
Tshabalala-Msimang on Friday welcomed a move by five major
international drug companies to slash the cost of drugs for treating
Aids in Africa, but warned that the reduced prices would not yet make
the anti-retrovirals affordable to all HIV-infected South Africans.
The 75 percent reduction will drop the current cost of "triple
treatment" from R70 000 per person per year to R17500.
However, with a public sector drug budget of R2 billion, this meant
that only 120 000 South Africans could receive treatment even if the
whole drug budget was spent on anti-retrovirals, Tshabalala-Msimang
said.
About 4,2 million South Africans are HIV-infected while some 400 000
are thought to be clinically ill with Aids.
"This unfortunately means that the Department of Health can still not
afford to buy anti-retrovirals for the treatment of those infected with
the HIV virus."
The minister said the details of the price reductions had not yet been
made available.
"But even with a 90 percent price reduction, the government would
still not be able to provide equitable access to anti-retroviral therapy
for all South Africans."
Tshabalala-Msimang emphasised that besides anti-retroviral medicines,
the success of any Aids initiatives would require public education,
counselling, testing, strengthening of health care infrastructure and
good monitoring systems.
She also commended the United States' recent decision not to put
"undue pressure on African governments in their efforts to improve
access to essential medicines through legal measures consistent with
international trade agreements (TRIPS)".
This confirmed the existing policy of the SA government,
Tshabalala-Msimang said. - Sapa.
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11 May 2000 09:42 PM - (SA)
Health ministry welcomes Aids drug move
Cape Town - The health ministry on
Thursday cautiously welcomed a move by five major international drug
companies to slash the cost of drugs for treating Aids in Africa and
other developing countries.
"This seems to be a step in the right direction," said ministry
spokeswoman Patricia Lambert.
It was reported form Geneva that the companies had agreed jointly on
a programme to reduce prices.
Lambert said that officially, the ministry had heard nothing, but that
Health Minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang was aware of the offer, and
had spoken briefly about it to UNAids head Peter Piot.
The ministry did not have any detail yet.
"We are cautiously excited. Obiviously we need to know the detail of
what the offers encompass," she said.
It also had to be noted that the mere provision of anti-retrovirals was
only part of the solution, and that infrastructural issues such as
monitoring would have to be addressed as well, she said.
The Geneva announcement follows two days of parliamentary hearings
this week in which drug companies came under fire from African
National Congress MPs and Aids pressure groups for high drug prices. -
Sapa
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Thai groups question discount Aids drug agreement
Bangkok - Aids activists in Thailand,
where nearly one in 60 people is infected with the HIV virus, on Friday
welcomed an agreement by pharmaceutical giants to slash the price of
Aids drugs but warned details of the deal remained vague.
"It will benefit every Aids patient in Thailand if the agreement is
unconditional," said Nimit Tienudom, the director of Aids Access
Foundation Thailand.
"It should be available to all Aids sufferers at the same prices without
conditions, not only wholesalers or state agencies."
He said only 5% of Thailand's 120 000 people with full-blown Aids were
now able to afford anti-virus drugs which cost between U$179 and
$512 monthly.
"More than 80% of Aids patients are very poor people, mostly farmers
or labourers. These people have no access to any drugs at all without
government funding," Nimit said.
Five of the world's largest drugs companies agreed on Thursday to cut
the price of Aids drugs by up to 85% in a landmark response to the
Aids crisis in the developing world, the United Nations announced.
The companies involved are Boehringer Ingelheim, Bristol-Myers Squibb,
Glaxo Wellcome, Merck and Co. Inc. and Hoffman-La Roche.
Medecins Sans Frontieres, Doctors Without Borders, also voiced
reservations about the announcement.
The humanitarian group said questions remained about how far any
agreement would reach and whether it would apply to drugs for
fighting all HIV/Aids related illnesses.
Thailand has one of the worst Aids problems in Asia.
An estimated 950 000 people, or one in 60 Thais, are infected with
Human Immuno-deficiency Virus (HIV), which leads to the Acquired
Immune Deficiency Syndrome (Aids).
Thai activists have since last year been lobbying the US to turn a blind
eye if Thailand licenses a version of an anti-Aids drug didanosine (DDI)
sold by a US pharmaceutical firm Bristol-Myers Squibb at prices few
Thais can afford.
Bristol-Myers is the only licensed producer of DDI in Thailand but at
about $2 per capsule it is beyond the reach of most here.
Humanitarian groups have accused the US of putting the welfare of big
business ahead of that of Aids patients by pressuring Thailand to
prevent production of the life-prolonging drug.
On average, it takes a decade for HIV infection to develop into the
fatal disease Aids.
The World Health Organisation predicts Aids deaths in Asia will jump
from 134 000 in 1995 to 500 000 this year.
HIV is most commonly transmitted by sexual contact and the sharing
of needles by drug users. - Sapa-AFP
12 May 2000 01:43 PM - (SA)
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Government has still not responded to AZT offer
Cape Town - Pharmaceutical giant
Glaxo Wellcome on Wednesday reiterated accusations that the
government was reluctant to respond to offers of cheaper Aids drugs
from pharmaceutical companies.
Glaxo, one of the biggest pharmaceutical companies world-wide,
confirmed it would continue with plans to close down its plant in
Midrand.
The company which developed the AZT drug in 1989, said in a
parliamentary health portfolio committee meeting on Wednesday the
stubborn focus on the cost of AZT was "misleading and not helpful".
Glaxo corporate affairs director Vicki Ehrich said the company is
offering the drug at a 75% cheaper rate than the average world price
to developing countries such as South Africa.
An offer to supply AZT at a privileged rate to South Africa had
progressed as far as the state tender board, but stopped there. "Since
then Glaxo has offered the privileged rate on various occasions,
however it received no clear reactions from the South African
government," she said.
Ehrich claims there is hardly any difference in price in South Africa
between Glaxo Wellcome's AZT and alternative generic drugs, imported
from other countries. "Cheaper medicine is not the most important
issue," she said. "Medicine on its own is not the solution."
If South Africa, in any way, is to halt the Aids epidemic, it would need
clear government policy, proper infrastructure, adequate budgets and
co-ordinated programmes.
Glaxo also objected to insinuations that it was trying to profit from
Aids victims. "Profit is not at issue here. I will repeat: If the
government decides today to make AZT available to everybody to
prevent HIV transmission from mother to child, it would make no
significant difference to the company's profits in South Africa, also not
to Glaxo's international share prices."
Ehrich added that the company was continuing with plans to close
down its plant in Midrand. The decision was taken in November last
year as part of the company's world-wide plans to be executed over
the next four years. At least 75% of all Glaxo products sold in South
Africa are manufactured at its Midrand plant.
Treatment Action Campaign member Zackie Achmat said Aids sufferers
are being turned away from hospitals. "They are sent away to die," he
said. He called on the government to send out a directive for the equal
treatment of all patients.
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