[Ip-health] AIDS Healthcare Foundation: AHF Applauds Gilead Sciences for Move to Increase Global Access to Affordable AIDS Drug

[Mike Palmedo]

http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/05-11-2006/0004360102&EDATE=

AHF Applauds Gilead Sciences for Move to Increase Global Access to
Affordable AIDS Drug - Calls on Other Drug Companies to Take Similar
Steps and Remove Barriers to Access to Affordable AIDS Drugs for the
Populations Most in Need in the World

LOS ANGELES, May 11 /PRNewswire/ -- AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF),
the nation's largest AIDS organization which operates free AIDS
treatment clinics in the United States, Africa, Central America and
Asia, today released the following statement by Michael Weinstein,
President, AIDS Healthcare Foundation, on Gilead Sciences' announcement
that it is pursuing non-exclusive, voluntary licensing to generic
manufacturers in India for its AIDS drug Viread (tenofovir disoproxil
fumarate) and is committed to registering Viread in all 97 developing
countries in its "Access Program" before the end of the year.


"At a time when access to affordable AIDS drugs is imperative to saving
the lives of more than 40 million people worldwide infected with HIV,
today's announcement by Gilead Sciences that it is pursuing a broad
policy of non-exclusive, voluntary licensing for Viread to generic
manufacturers in India, and it is committed to registering its drug in
97 least developed and hardest hit countries by the end of the year, is
encouraging.  Indian generic manufacturers play a critical role in
getting cheap drugs to the world's poorest countries and the
non-exclusive, voluntary licensing of Viread will encourage competition
among these generic manufacturers and further drive down the price of
the drug.  AHF supports this most recent announcement and calls on
Gilead to take similar action with its other important AIDS drugs and
calls on other pharmaceutical companies to follow in Gilead's footsteps
and change their policies in order to remove barriers to access."
 - Michael Weinstein, President, AIDS Healthcare Foundation.

Gilead's announcement stated that it is in "initial discussions with a
number of interested parties [generic pharmaceutical manufacturers] ...
and [licensing to] multiple manufacturers will ensure competitive prices
and the broadest access possible in these least developed countries."