-Caveat Lector-
AIDS drugs to be sold below cost in Africa
March 15, 2001
Web posted at: 10:16 AM EST (1516 GMT)
NEW YORK (AP) -- Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. says it will sell two
AIDS medications at below cost to African countries, a decision
hailed by activists who have been urging drug makers to
drastically reduce prices in poverty-stricken nations.
The action, announced Wednesday, comes on the heels of an
announcement by Merck and Co. that the drug maker will sell its
two key AIDS drugs -- Crixivan and Stocrin -- to poor countries
for about one tenth the U.S. price.
Bristol-Myers said it will make AIDS drugs Videx and Zerit
available to any African country for the cost of $1 a day per
dosage, 85 cents for Videx and 15 cents for Zerit. Bristol-Myers
had already cut the price of Zerit last year and had been selling
both drugs for about $1.60 a day.
In the United States, the same drugs sell for about $18 a day.
The company also said its patent rights for Zerit, which are
owned jointly by Bristol-Myers and Yale University, will be
waived in South Africa, which would open the market to generic
versions from other companies. Bristol-Myers said it has no other
patent rights elsewhere in Africa involving AIDS therapies.
More than 25 million of the 36 million people infected with HIV
live in sub-Saharan Africa, one of the world's most impoverished
regions. Unlike in wealthier Western countries, the vast majority
of the developing world's people infected with the virus have no
access to life-prolonging AIDS medication and will die from the
debilitating effects of the disease.
"This is not about profits and patents; it's about poverty and a
devastating disease," said John L. McGoldrick, Bristol-Myers
executive vice president. "We seek no profits on AIDS drugs in
Africa, and we will not let our patents be an obstacle."
The Treatment Action Campaign, a South African AIDS activist
group, called the decision a major victory.
"This victory has come about as a result of the global effort by
HIV/AIDS activists," the organization said. "The pressure has
become too much for (Bristol-Myers) and they are relenting."
But the group also called on Bristol-Myers to drop out of a
lawsuit it has filed with other drug companies in South Africa to
keep generic-drug makers from making copycat medicines.
Company executives said the lawsuit was needed because it applies
to all prescription drugs -- not just AIDS medications.
Bristol-Myers said it would offer the drugs through its existing
partnerships with UNAIDS, the World Health Organization, the
World Bank, UNICEF and the United Nations Population Fund.
Merck's Crixivan sells for about $6,016 annually per patient in
the United States, but will be sold to developing nations for
about $600 per patient per year. Stocrin will be sold for about
$500 per patient per year, instead of the $4,730 it costs in the
United States.
Copyright 2001 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This
material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or
redistributed.
RELATED STORIES:
South Africa in AIDS drug fight
March 9, 2001
Oxfam: Drug firms waging war on poor
February 12, 2001
Gates urges new war against AIDS
January 29, 2001
U.N. World AIDS Day held as disease spreads
December 1, 2000
Russia facing AIDS 'catastrophe'
November 16, 2000
RELATED SITES:
CDC - HIV/AIDS Fact Sheet
Bristol-Myers Squibb
Merck & Company
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