E-drug: Sources and prices of HIV/AIDS medicines and diagnostics
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Dear E-Druggers,
We would like to inform you that the June 2004 report of "Sources and
Prices of Selected Medicines and Diagnostics for People living with
HIV/AIDS" was released on 29 June 2004. The report provides market
information on 87 reviewed products for the treatment and management of
HIV/AIDS from 84 manufacturers from 29 countries. It gives purchasers of
AIDS medicines and diagnostics a range of choices related to suppliers and
affordability. The medicines included were selected on the basis of WHO
standard treatment guidelines. The list is not exhaustive but covers the
most commonly used HIV/AIDS medicines, with paediatric forms included
wherever possible.
This report is the fifth in a series of annual publications of sources and
prices surveys commenced in 1999 by UNICEF, UNAIDS, WHO and Medecins Sans
Frontieres (MSF). The present edition is the result of a survey carried out
from December 2003 through to January 2004.
The report includes antiretroviral (ARV) medicines, medicines used to treat
a range of opportunistic infections, medicines for use in palliative care,
medicines for the treatment of HIV-related cancers and for the management
of opioid dependence. It also provides information on a range of test kits
for the diagnosis of HIV/AIDS and for the monitoring of ARV therapy and
drug resistance.
The section on registration status of products has, in this new edition,
been organized on a per country basis to improve readability. This
information will be useful for countries that are in the process of
granting market authorization to HIV/AIDS related products.
Finally, the sixth edition of the MSF document, "Untangling the Web of Price
Reductions: a pricing guide for the purchase of ARVs for developing
countries" has been included as an annex. The report presents in a
tabular format the
prices offered for ARV medicines by pharmaceutical companies specifically
for developing countries. Since not all countries are eligible for the lowest
prices offered, the report also provides the conditions countries will have
to meet to obtain ARVs at the given prices.
Sources and Prices 2004 can be found on the following web sites:
UNICEF: <http://www.unicef.org>
UNAIDS: <http://www.unaids.org>
MSF: <http://www.accessmed-msf.org>
WHO EDM: <http://www.who.int/medicines>
WHO HIV: <http://www.who.int/hiv>
and can also be downloaded from the WHO Fact Sheet "Drug Price Information
Services: What is WHO doing to improve drug price information?"
http://www.who.int/medicines/organization/par/ipc/drugpriceinfo.shtml
Hard copies are available from the above organizations.
On behalf of the collaborating organizations,
Marthe M Everard
Technical Officer
Policy, Access, and Rational Use (PAR)
Essential Drugs and Medicines Policy (EDM) World Health Organization Avenue
Appia 20
CH-1211 Geneva 27
Switzerland
Tel : # 41 22 791 3835
Fax: # 41 22 791 4167
E-mail: everardm@who.int
www.who.int/medicines
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