NewsWhore
11-01-2010, 02:30 PM
The Presidential AIDS Council (Copresida) is working towards securing an agreement with Merck Laboratories, patent holder for Efavirenz, the main antiretroviral medicine used by thousands of HIV/AIDS patients in the Dominican Republic. According to Copresida, the government could save as much as RD$105 million in three years if it purchased a generic brand. In an interview with Diario Libre, Copresida chairman Gustavo Rojas Lara said that he had sent a letter to the Presidency, the ministers of Industry and Commerce, Public Health and others, outlining the need to reduce costs in order to include more patients in the treatments.
Since the beginning of October, 16,173 people received antiretroviral medicines through the STI and AIDS Control Directorate's Integrated Care Unit. The state will spend RD$702,458,903 on the purchase of medicines over a three-year period. These medicines control the reproduction of the virus and increase life expectancy for people with HIV/AIDS.
A bottle of Efavirenz currently costs US$19.50 and contains 30 pills, one month's supply. However, the head of Copresida says that it is "unfair" to have to buy the medicine at that price when it can be obtained for just US$5 from international pharmaceutical companies, or, if a deal can be made with Merck to reduce the cost, a parallel import arrangement can be made, or some other arrangement.
Between 2004 and 2009, the Clinton Foundation acted as the country's purchasing agent, but since 1 June 2009 purchasing has been done through the Pan American Health Organization. Merck holds the patent on Efavirenz until 2012.
Rojas Lara said that Brazil, Malaysia, Thailand and Ecuador have reached agreements and obtained local licenses and better prices that in turn benefit patients as well as the local pharmaceutical industry. Brazil, for example, was the first country in the world to break the patent of Efavirenz, manufactured by the multi-national Merck, Sharp & Dome. This was done via a Presidential Obligatory Licensing Decree after negotiations aimed at reducing the cost of the medicine broke down.
More... (http://www.dr1.com/index.html#3)
Since the beginning of October, 16,173 people received antiretroviral medicines through the STI and AIDS Control Directorate's Integrated Care Unit. The state will spend RD$702,458,903 on the purchase of medicines over a three-year period. These medicines control the reproduction of the virus and increase life expectancy for people with HIV/AIDS.
A bottle of Efavirenz currently costs US$19.50 and contains 30 pills, one month's supply. However, the head of Copresida says that it is "unfair" to have to buy the medicine at that price when it can be obtained for just US$5 from international pharmaceutical companies, or, if a deal can be made with Merck to reduce the cost, a parallel import arrangement can be made, or some other arrangement.
Between 2004 and 2009, the Clinton Foundation acted as the country's purchasing agent, but since 1 June 2009 purchasing has been done through the Pan American Health Organization. Merck holds the patent on Efavirenz until 2012.
Rojas Lara said that Brazil, Malaysia, Thailand and Ecuador have reached agreements and obtained local licenses and better prices that in turn benefit patients as well as the local pharmaceutical industry. Brazil, for example, was the first country in the world to break the patent of Efavirenz, manufactured by the multi-national Merck, Sharp & Dome. This was done via a Presidential Obligatory Licensing Decree after negotiations aimed at reducing the cost of the medicine broke down.
More... (http://www.dr1.com/index.html#3)