[Ip-health] AHF Campaign Challenges Cipla Over Drug Pricing in India:"Profit at What Cost? AIDS Drugs for All" -- New Delhi Press Conf Thurs Aug 9 @3pm
Ged Kenslea
Ged.Kenslea@aidshealth.org
Thu Aug 9 07:09:02 2007
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AIDS Healthcare Foundation Campaign Challenges Cipla Over Drug Pricing in I=
ndia:
Profit at What Cost?
AIDS Drugs for All
Print Ad in Major Indian Newspapers Criticizes Cipla for Charging Far More =
in India for Its Lifesaving Generic AIDS Drugs than it Does in Africa; Grou=
p Says Cipla's Pricing Policies Keep Drugs Out of Reach of Many in Need in =
India
WHAT: Press Conference
New Print Ad in Major Indian Newspapers Targets Cipla=
on AIDS Drug Pricing
WHEN: Thursday, August 9th 2007 3:00pm
WHERE: NEW DELHI-Intercontinental Grand Hotel, Roy=
al Room, Lower Level
Barakhamba Avenue, Connaught Place, New Delhi - 110001, India
WHO: Chinkholal Thangsing, M.D., Asia Pacific Bureau Ch=
ief, AIDS Healthcare Foundation
Mahesh Ganesan, Ph.D. Advocacy Coordinator, AIDS Healthc=
are Foundation, Asia Pacific Bureau
Terri Ford, Director of Global Advo=
cacy, AIDS Healthcare Foundation
Francisco Xavier De Melo, President=
, Love Life Society - Delhi Network of MSM+
Also other civil society organizati=
ons.
CONTACTS:
India-
Dr. Chinkholal Thangsing, Asia Pacific Bureau Chief, AIDS Healthcare Founda=
tion +91. 98.1827.0687 Mobile
Terri Ford, Director of Global Advocacy, AIDS Healthcare Foundation =
+1.213.399.1001 Mobile
Los Angeles-
Ged Kenslea, AHF Communications Director +1.=
323.791.5526 mobile +1.323.860.5225 work
Lori Yeghiayan, AHF Associate Director of Communications =
+1.323.377.4312 mobile +1.323.860.5227 work
NEW DELHI, August 7, 2007=BEAs part of its ongoing global campaign to lower=
drug prices and improve access to lifesaving AIDS treatments worldwide, AI=
DS Healthcare Foundation (AHF), which operates free AIDS treatment clinics =
in India under AHF India Cares (in Mysore, New Delhi and in Guwahati, Assam=
in collaboration with the National AIDS Control Organization)-will host a =
press conference in New Delhi on Thursday August 9th with several Indian ci=
vil society partners and co-sponsors to unveil a print advertisement in a n=
ew advocacy campaign that challenges Cipla, the Indian drug maker, for its =
steep prices for Cipla's generic AIDS drugs in India.
AHF is launching this new campaign targeting generic drug over-pricing begi=
nning with a focus on Cipla. AHF and the coalition are well aware that othe=
r drug companies including Ranbaxy, Emcure, Aurobindo and Genex are not imm=
une to similar review, which will follow the launch of this initial adverti=
sement focusing on Cipla, the largest company.
The print ad being unveiled and first published this week is headlined, 'Pr=
ofit at What Cost? AIDS Drugs for All.' The ad will appear in the prominent=
Indian newspapers, 'The Hindu' (Delhi), 'The Indian Express' and 'The Fina=
ncial Express' (both based in Mumbai) on Thursday August 9th.
Cipla, the world's largest manufacturer of antiretroviral drugs to fight HI=
V/AIDS (as measured by units produced, distributed and sold-not overall rev=
enue), is best-known for manufacturing economical generic anti-AIDS drugs u=
sed throughout Africa. However, advocates have long wondered why Cipla's li=
fe-saving AIDS medicines cost far more in India-some more than twice as muc=
h-than what Cipla charges for the very same anti-AIDS drugs it exports to A=
frica. As a result of this seemingly incongruous price disparity, AIDS Heal=
thcare Foundation is spearheading an effort to highlight and question Cipla=
and its Chairman, Dr. Yusuf Hamied, on these price differences. AHF is jo=
ined in this advocacy effort by a broad coalition of international and Indi=
an civil society and advocacy groups.
"As an HIV/AIDS medical provider, I see firsthand at AHF's clinics in Indi=
a and around the globe how antiretroviral treatment can save and improve th=
e lives of people living with HIV or AIDS," said Chinkholal Thangsing, M.D.=
, Asia Pacific Bureau Chief for the AIDS Healthcare Foundation, and who is =
based in New Delhi. "However, I am saddened that India's own Cipla charges =
two-and-one-half times as much in India as it does in Africa for its Virada=
y tablets, Cipla's generic three-in-one combination antiretroviral therapy =
that patients have to take just once a day. This significant price differen=
ce contributes to the fact that far fewer Indians have access to such lifes=
aving AIDS therapies. We are asking Dr. Yusuf Hamied, Cipla's Chairman, to =
lower the price in India for this potentially lifesaving AIDS combination t=
hat for now is simply unaffordable and as a result out of reach for million=
s of HIV positive people in need in India."
Viraday is Cipla's generic formulation of Atripla, an all-in-one antiretrov=
iral treatment (ART) combination that includes the drugs efavirenz, emtrici=
tabine and tenofovir disoproxil fumarate. Bristol Myers-Squibb and Gilead S=
ciences manufacture Atripla. In India, Cipla currently sells Viraday for 54=
,000 rupees (USD $1,344) per patient, per year (PPY); however the generic I=
ndian drug giant charges only 21,200 rupees (USD $528) PPY when it exports =
the combination AIDS therapy to countries in Africa.
"Cipla's corporate slogan is 'None shall be denied,' yet the price differen=
ces between Africa and India all but assure that many patients in need in I=
ndia will in fact be denied access to Cipla's lifesaving AIDS treatments," =
said Michael Weinstein, AIDS Healthcare Foundation President in a statement=
from Los Angeles. "We are asking Cipla to cut its price in India for Virad=
ay down to the price it charges in Africa. Through this ad, we also want to=
make policy makers and the public-at-large aware of this striking inequity=
in Cipla's pricing. As it stands now, it appears that Cipla's pricing poli=
cies in India put profits before people."
The print advertisement, a four-color ad that runs a full-page in one newsp=
aper (the Hindu) and a half-page in each of the others (Indian Express and =
Financial Express), includes a striking quote from Cipla's Chairman from a =
June 2004 interview in the periodical, 'Positive Nation.' In it, Dr. Hamied=
stated, "Pharmaceutical companies don't price their drugs according to cos=
t but rather to their market value. The customers for drugs in India cannot=
afford to pay high costs for drugs. So what's the point of charging obscen=
e prices?" The ad also includes call to action asking concerned readers to =
contact Dr. Hamied and Cipla to, "Demand that Cipla Live Up to Its Promise-=
Reduce Drug Prices to Save Lives in India." People are asked to call or wri=
te Cipla at (9122) 23082891 or via email at corporate@cipla.com <mailto:cor=
porate@cipla.com>
"Without access to second-line therapies, I would probably not be alive tod=
ay", states Francisco Xavier De Melo, President of India's Love Life Societ=
y-Delhi Network of MSM+. "I am very lucky as very few Indian people have ac=
cess to second-line therapy. It is too expensive -- but it is a matter of l=
ife and death for many of us. Positive people look to Cipla to help make tr=
eatment accessible".
History of AIDS Healthcare Foundation's Drug Pricing and Access Advocacy
Over the years AHF has had a long, outspoken and successful history of advo=
cacy and outreach regarding AIDS drug pricing and access issues around the =
globe. This advocacy has often occurred via direct meetings and corresponde=
nce with drug company officials; through press conferences and press statem=
ents; via the filing of lawsuits; through lobbying government officials; vi=
a the mounting of protests and awareness campaigns; and through the placeme=
nt of advertisements and calls to action, such as the current, "Profits at =
What Costs? AIDS Drugs for All," in India.
AHF's advocacy efforts have included:
*=09Earlier this year, AHF mounted a similar print ad and awareness campaig=
n on AIDS drug pricing in Mexico. That campaign featured a print ad, "AIDS =
Drug Prices to Die For," which ran in prominent papers in Mexico and severa=
l US cities and targeted both Bristol Myers-Squibb (BMS) and Merck (known a=
s Merck Sharp & Dohme in Mexico). The two drug companies are being targeted=
for charging four times as much in Mexico for their key AIDS drugs Reyataz=
and Stocrin as they do in other Latin American and middle-income countries=
. Mexico, which is classified as an 'upper middle-income' country, has a gr=
oss national income (GNI) of USD $6,790 annually, while the average annual =
per person cost of antiretroviral in the country is USD $8,000 (for treatme=
nts that can cost as little as USD $150 in Africa), making these lifesaving=
AIDS regimens all but unaffordable for nearly all those living with HIV/AI=
DS in Mexico. The Mexico advocacy campaign is ongoing.
*=09Over the past four years, AHF has targeted Abbott Laboratories regardin=
g several of its global AIDS drug pricing and access policies. AHF is curre=
ntly targeting Abbott for its recent cold-hearted and punitive access polic=
ies in Thailand regarding its drug combination, Kaletra. In January, the go=
vernment of Thailand issued a compulsory license for the manufacture and im=
port of a generic version of the drug; the move prompted Abbott to withdraw=
all new drugs, including Aluvia, a heat-stable tablet formulation of Kalet=
ra, from the official governmental approval and registration process in Tha=
iland. In July 2007, AHF praised the government of Brazil for negotiating a=
30% discount on Abbott's Kaletra. Brazil had also threatened to issue a co=
mpulsory license for Kaletra. Separately, in 2004, AHF had protested and f=
iled a lawsuit against Abbott in response to a five-fold price hike the com=
pany instituted on its AIDS drug, Norvir. The suit was later settled.
*=09AHF has repeatedly called on the pharmaceutical industry as a whole to =
cut prices and increase access to AIDS therapies globally. In July 2006, AH=
F officials, who had earlier met with Gilead Sciences executives, praised t=
he drug company after Gilead announced plans to reduce prices for its HIV/A=
IDS-related medications by two-thirds for middle-income countries including=
Mexico.
*=09AHF has also challenged British drug giant GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) in lon=
g running campaigns via protests, press conferences and lawsuits. Some acti=
ons targeted GSK over its patent claim and steep pricing on AZT, the first =
AIDS drug. Other actions focused on GSK's global pricing and access, partic=
ularly in Africa, and its partnership with Aspencare, a generic drug manufa=
cturer in South Africa (where AHF opened its first global treatment clinic =
in 2001), which after several years hadn't produced any generic GSK AIDS me=
dications.
*=09AHF also spoke out loudly when the Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Associa=
tion of South Africa and 39 pharmaceutical companies filed a lawsuit agains=
t the government of South Africa when it approved a law that would allow th=
e country to import and manufacture cheaper generic AIDS drugs. The drug in=
dustry's move was met with 'a groundswell of public and government oppositi=
on,' which caused some of the 'largest firms' involved in the case to, 'ret=
hink their strategy,' according to 'The Guardian' newspaper. In April 2001,=
the drug companies agreed to drop their lawsuit, a move that AHF praised.
*=09Separately, AHF has targeted Pfizer Inc., the world's largest drug comp=
any, over its reckless advertising and marketing for its erectile dysfuncti=
on drug, Viagra. AHF hosted press conferences; issued press statements; wro=
te and/or met with officials at the FDA and the FCC; and filed a lawsuit ov=
er one of Pfizer's Viagra advertising campaigns, which AHF believes encoura=
ge the non-medical use of the drug as a party drug, and which AHF believes =
can contribute to increased risks for exposure to sexually transmitted dise=
ases, including HIV. The campaign is ongoing.
In the Asia/Pacific region, AIDS Healthcare Foundation currently provides f=
ree anti-retroviral treatment to people in need through its clinics in Indi=
a (Mysore, New Delhi, Guwahati) as well as in free treatment clinics in Tha=
iland, Viet Nam, Cambodia and China.
AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) is the US' largest and oldest and non-prof=
it HIV/AIDS healthcare, research, prevention and education provider, curren=
tly provides medical care, including lifesaving treatment and services to m=
ore than 50,000 individuals in 15 countries worldwide in the US, Africa, La=
tin America/Caribbean and Asia. For more information, visit www.aidshealth.=
org <https://outlook.aidshealth.org/exchweb/bin/redir.asp?URL=3Dhttp://www.=
aidshealth.org/>
# # #
Ged Kenslea
Communications Director
AIDS Healthcare Foundation
6255 Sunset Blvd., Suite 2100
Los Angeles CA 90028
+1.323.860.5225 direct
+1.323.791.5526 mobile
+1.323.468.0400 fax