[Ip-health] Vasan et. al in the WHO Bulletin: The pricing and procurement of antiretroviral drugs: an observational study of data from the Global Fund

[Thiru Balasubramaniam]

The full text of this article may be read at the following link:

http://www.who.int/entity/bulletin/volumes/84/5/393.pdf

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http://www.who.int/bulletin/volumes/84/5/vasan0506abstract/en/index.html

The pricing and procurement of antiretroviral drugs: an observational
study of data from the Global Fund
Ashwin Vasan, David Hoos, Joia S Mukherjee, Paul E Farmer, Allan G
Rosenfield, & Joseph H Perri=EBns


ABSTRACT

The Purchase price report released in August 2004 by the Global Fund to
Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria (Global Fund) was the first
publication of a significant amount of real transaction purchase data
for antiretrovirals (ARVs). We did an observational study of the ARV
transaction data in the Purchase price report to examine the procurement
behaviour of principal recipients of Global Fund grants in developing
countries. We found that, with a few exceptions for specific products
(e.g. lamivudine) and regions (e.g. eastern Europe), prices in
low-income countries were broadly consistent or lower than the lowest
differential prices quoted by the research and development sector of the
pharmaceutical industry. In lower middle-income countries, prices were
more varied and in several instances (lopinavir/ritonavir, didanosine,
and zidovudine/lamivudine) were very high compared with the per capita
income of the country. In all low- and lower middle-income countries,
ARV prices were still significantly high given limited local purchasing
power and economic strength, thus reaffirming the need for donor support
to achieve rapid scale-up of antiretroviral therapy. However, the price
of ARVs will have to decrease to render scale-up financially sustainable
for donors and eventually for governments themselves. An important first
step in reducing prices will be to make available in the public domain
as much ARV transaction data as possible to provide a factual basis for
discussions on pricing. The price of ARVs has considerable implications
for the sustainability of human immunodeficiency virus/acquired
immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) treatment in the developing world.