Under a deal announced Thursday by former President Bill Clinton, US drug companies Mylan and its subsidiary Matrix will cut their prices for second-line HIV/AIDS drugs in developing nations.
Atazanavir, ritonavir, tenofovir, and lamivudine will be sold as three pills, with tenofovir and lamivudine combined as one. The drugs' newly reduced price of $475 will drop to $425 next year.
Further, Pfizer has announced it will cut the price and increase the availability of rifabutin, which is used to treat TB in patients taking second-line HIV medications. The TB drug will sell at $1 per dose, or $90 for a full six-month course of treatment. The price will be available to developing nations in Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe, Latin America, the Middle East, and the Caribbean.
"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," said a statement from Clinton.
The reduced HIV/AIDS drug prices will be available to governments taking part in the William J. Clinton Foundation's Procurement Consortium in Asia, Africa, Latin America, and the Caribbean. Compared to the prices usually charged for second-line regimens, the new arrangement will translate into a $400 million savings over the next five years, the foundation said.
08/06/09
GLOBAL: Drug Makers to Supply Cheap HIV Treatments
Source: Agence France Presse; Courtesy of the CDC National Center for HIV, STD, and TB Prevention