Indian Firm To Sell Low-Priced AIDS Drugs For African Patients
Regional, Health, 2/9/2001

An Indian drug manufacturer, Cipla Ltd., has offered to sell AIDS drugs at a considerably lowered price to Doctors Without Borders for its work in Africa.

The New York Times reported Wednesday that Cipla has agreed to sell the generic versions of the triple-therapy drug cocktails for the treatment of AIDS at a price of $ 350 US per person per year.

According to the arrangement, the Bombay-based company would, however, sell the drugs to government programs at a price of $ 600 per person per year.

The classic triple therapy drug is sold by Western multinational companies at between $ 10,000 and 15,000 per person per year.

Cipla's chairman, Yusuf Hamied was quoted explaining that the $ 350 price of his drugs for Doctors Without Borders was below cost, but that the company could break even at the $ 600 price for government AIDS programs.

"This is the only way to break the stranglehold of the multinationals," he said.

Hamied, who is scheduled to meet with Doctors Without Borders on Feb.15 to discuss strategies for the arrangement, has said he will sell as many doses of the drugs to the charity organization as it wants.

The arrangement is expected to allow the doctors' group to increase the number of their projects that give out anti-drug cocktails from five to up to 20.

The group has 40 AIDS projects in developing countries, about half of them in Africa. About 25 million of the 30 million people infected with HIV/AIDS in the world are from Africa, and high prices have made anti-AIDS drugs out of reach for patients on the Africa.

Previous Stories:
  UN General Assembly to convene special session on HIV/AIDS in june   (11/4/2000)
  Peace corps volunteers to expand fight against AIDS in africa, elsewhere   (6/28/2000)
  African health ministers meet in Ouagadougou   (5/9/2000)

Please add a link on your webiste pointing to ArabicNews.com and bookmark ArabicNews.com & subscribe to our daily email news bulletin.

Search