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The Indian pharmaceutical's move has made anti-HIV drugs more accessible to patients
According to the National Aids Control Organisation (NACO), the total number of HIV patients in India is about 3.7 million, of which 5 lakh have AIDS. Unofficial sources place the figures much higher. The threat of AIDS in India is aggravated by highly-priced medicines as well as the lack of a concrete medical strategy. However, Cipla, an Indian generic drug manufacturing firm founded in 1935, offered to slash prices of three anti-HIV drugs in February 2001. Cipla has offered to sell a cocktail of three anti-HIV drugs, Stavudine, Lamivudine and Nevirapine, to the Nobel Prize-winning voluntary agency Medicine Sans Frontieres (MSF) at a rate of $350, and at $600 per patient per year to other NGOs over the world. In the international market the price of these triple combination anti-retroviral drugs ranges from $1,000-15,000. With the Cipla offer, prices have tumbled to $750. This has not only made the drugs accessible to a wider range of people but it has also forced other pharmaceutical houses to lower their prices. Cipla's offer has triggered a movement towards reduced drug prices amongst drug manufacturing giants like GlaxoSmithKline and Merck and Abbot. Although Cipla's offer remains unmatched in the international market, two Indian firms, Hetero and Aurobindo, have also made offers at a price lower than Cipla's. While Hetero has offered a package for $347, Aurobindo has promised the cocktail at $297. MSF, an organisation that has tremendous work experience in the field of providing emergency medical provisions all over the world, is positive about the Cipla offer. The offer not only matches price expectations, but has redefined the entire concept of HIV care. Recently, MSF has started using drugs obtained from Cipla in its AIDS treatment project in Cambodia and ten other countries. However, MSF feels that even at such reduced rates, the drugs would be unaffordable to the majority in the developing world. Corporate houses must actively help in combating the disease. Contact: Cipla India Limited
Mumbai Central,
Mumbai 400008, Maharashtra, India
Tel:91-22-308 2891/309 5521
Email:
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