Cheaper ARVs thanks to Clinton

Former US president Bill Clinton announced that Maylan and its extension Matrix had agreed to make available a second line therapy for HIV infected people. The second line package, inclusive of antiretroviral drugs – Azanavir (ATV), Ritonavir (RTV), Tenofovir (TDF), and Lamivudine (3TC) will be sold at less than US $500 (R4000) a year.

All four drugs will be sold as three pills with Tenefovir and Lamivudine combined into one pill at US$475 (R 3 800) annually. Starting from next year the pills are going to be made available as one package at an annual cost of US$425 (R3 400).

The foundation said the discount amounted to 400 million dollars (R3.2 billion) in savings for the next five years.

The second agreement was with Pfizer to reduce and expand the availability of Rifabutin the drug used to treat TB in patients on second line ARV therapy.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) reports that TB is the leading cause of death among HIV infected people resulting in over 456 000 deaths in 2007.  

Pfizer agreed to sell the drugs at US$1 (R8) per dose or US$90 (R270) for a full course of six months.

Developing countries  in Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe, Latin America, the Middle East and the Caribbean that are part of the Clinton Foundation’€™s Procurement Consortium are the ones set to benefit from the price reduction.

Clinton said his Foundation’€™s HIV/AIDS Initiative had put 2 million people on ARV therapy and that this agreement would ensure that there was uninterrupted access to treatment.

‘€œBut their continued survival depends on uninterrupted access to medicines and quality and affordable health care throughout their entire life. Today’€™s announcement will help ensure we can sustain treatment over a lifetime and better treat patients with both HIV and TB, two key steps in turning the tide of the global HIV/AIDS pandemic,’€ he said

Paula Akugizibwe, Regional Treatment Literacy and Advocacy Coordinator of AIDS and Rights Alliance for Southern Africa (ARASA) said the work that the foundation is doing was amazing but there was a need to ensure that more countries accessed generic medicines.

‘€œWe welcome the efforts by the foundation particularly given that the drugs whose prices they are getting reduced are in great demand and known to be too expensive for some countries. We also acknowledge that there is a lot that still needs to be done to ensure that more countries access generic medicines and benefit from the reduction of prices’€, she said.

Read more at www.health24.com

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