E-drug: (Thailand) Inexpensive pills will be on sale soon
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[Copied from Pharm Policy]
http://www.bangkokpost.com/today/300300_News03.html
March 30, 2000
Inexpensive pills will be on sale soon
Patients to get more affordable treatment
Aphaluck Bhatiasevi
The Government Pharmaceutical Organisation yesterday made a commitment
to the production of lower priced anti-Aids drugs so more patients can
gain access to treatment.
Dr Krisda Manoonvong, the GPO director, said the organisation will soon
manufacture a powdered form of didanosine (ddI) with a different buffer,
or absorption ingredient, from the original drug manufactured by Bristol
Myers Squibb.
The BMS drug costs 42 baht per 100mg tablet, but the GPO product will
cost only 26 baht per 115mg and is as effective as the 100mg tablet,
said Dr Krisda.
The GPO will also manufacture a 170mg package of ddI, costing 36 baht,
he said.
Other drugs in the GPO's pipeline for production include stavudine (d4T)
and lamivudine (3TC), both of which were last year removed from the
monopoly list of the Safety Monitoring Process (SMP), under the Food and
Drug Administration.
Dr Krisda said the two drugs have the same properties as zidovudine
(AZT) which is a basic anti-Aids drug and can be used as a substitute
for those who suffer side-effects from AZT.
The original d4T drug costs about 88 baht per tablet, while that to be
manufactured by the GPO will only cost 15 baht, he said.
Krisna Kraisin, of the GPO's Research Institute, said the agency is
still waiting for the import of raw materials to enable it to
manufacture 3TC.
The price of 3TC, which originally cost about 104 baht per 150mg tablet,
will be reduced to about 20 baht, she said.
Local production of zidovudine (AZT) in 1995 managed to bring down the
price of the drug from 40 baht per tablet to 15 baht.
When asked about a reported shortage of AZT in hospitals in northern
provinces, Ms Krisna said it had nothing to do with the GPO.
She said the shortage could have occurred because the hospitals failed
to place orders for the drug, as the GPO had no production problems.
lw2Ms Krisna said the organisation received continuous orders worth
over 100 million baht each year, adding that the low priced, locally
made drugs will be made available to the public only if the GPO receives
continuous orders.
However, she expressed confidence that the Communicable Diseases Control
Department will order the drugs on a regular basis for distribution to
various hospitals under its support.
Ms Krisna said the GPO is also working on the research and development
of herbal medicines that could be used as alternatives to anti-viral
drugs.
AIDS Treatment Data Network
611 Broadway, Suite #613
New York, NY 10012
Tel: (800) 734-7104
Fax: (212) 260-8869
E-mail: network@atdn.org
Internet: aidsinfonyc.org/network
Affiliation provided for purpose of identification, not representation.
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