[Ip-health] MSF: ABBOTT PICKS AND CHOOSES WHICH PATIENTS GET CRUCIAL NEW VERSION OF AIDS DRUG

[Kate Evans]

=0D
=0D
=0D
=0D
Doctors Without Borders/M=C3=A9decins Sans Fronti=C3=A8res (MSF)=0D
Contact: Michael Goldfarb, +1-212-763-5783=0D
=0D
ABBOTT PICKS AND CHOOSES WHICH PATIENTS GET CRUCIAL NEW VERSION OF AIDS=0D
DRUG IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES=0D
=0D
Bangkok/New York, July 6, 2006 =E2=80=93 People living with HIV/AIDS in dev=
eloping=0D
countries in urgent need of an improved version of the AIDS drug=0D
lopinavir/ritonavir continue to be denied access to it by its sole=0D
manufacturer, Abbott Laboratories, according to the international medical=
=0D
humanitarian organization Doctors Without Borders/M=C3=A9decins Sans Fronti=
=C3=A8res=0D
(MSF).=0D
=0D
The Chicago-based company began shipping the new formulation to a limited=
=0D
number of MSF projects in Africa for $500-per-patient-per-year only after a=
=0D
cumbersome and time-consuming procedure. However, Abbott refuses to sell=0D
the drug to MSF for use in its programs in Thailand and Guatemala and has=
=0D
dragged its feet with registering it in developing countries. The result is=
=0D
that the new formulation of lopinavir/ritonavir remains unavailable and=0D
unaffordable for the vast majority of patients who need it.=0D
=0D
The new version of lopinavir/ritonavir, a second-line AIDS drug recommended=
=0D
by the World Health Organization, has critically important advantages over=
=0D
the old version, including lower pill count, storage without refrigeration,=
=0D
and no dietary restrictions. But without registration, the drug is=0D
virtually impossible to obtain at any price. In China, not even the old=0D
version is available, because although it is registered, Abbott has chosen=
=0D
not to market it in the country.=0D
=0D
=E2=80=9CHere in Thailand, where temperatures exceed 30=C2=BAC most of the =
year, this=0D
drug that no longer requires refrigeration is a major advantage, but Abbott=
=0D
refuses to register it,=E2=80=9D said Dr. David Wilson, of MSF in Thailand.=
=0D
=E2=80=9CInstead, Abbott says we can make do with the older drug that is no=
 longer=0D
even on the US market, but this is clearly a second-best product and it is=
=0D
sold here at a price that is anyway not affordable. By limiting its $500=0D
price to the poorest of developing countries, Abbott is adopting a policy=
=0D
that deliberately excludes people living with HIV/AIDS in other developing=
=0D
countries.=E2=80=9D=0D
=0D
There is a growing need in developing countries for second-line regimens=0D
for patients that have been on treatment for several years. However, there=
=0D
is great concern that national treatment programs and funding agencies will=
=0D
not be able to afford the prices of these drugs, which are much higher than=
=0D
those of first-line regimens.  In Thailand, Abbott charges at least $2,800=
=0D
for the old version of lopinavir/ritonavir, which means that it costs=0D
roughly ten times more to treat a patient who needs to be switched to a=0D
second-line regimen containing this drug.=0D
=0D
=E2=80=9CThis is a classic case of how monopolies hurt patients,=E2=80=9D s=
aid Dr. Tido von=0D
Schoen-Angerer of MSF=E2=80=99s Campaign for Access to Essential Medicines.=
 =E2=80=9CWe=0D
need generic competition for these newer essential drugs, because it=E2=80=
=99s the=0D
only way to make them affordable and widely available. It should not be up=
=0D
to a CEO in Chicago to decide who has access to a life-saving medicine.=E2=
=80=9D=0D
=0D
###=0D
=0D
Kate Evans=0D
U.S. Coordinator, Campaign for Access to Essential Medicines=0D
Doctors Without Borders/M=C3=A9decins Sans Fronti=C3=A8res (MSF)=0D
333 Seventh Avenue, 2nd Floor * New York, NY * 10001-5004 * USA=0D
Tel: +1-212-655-3762=0D
Cell: +917-331-9077=0D
Fax: +1-212-679-7016=0D
E-mail: kate.evans@newyork.msf.org