[Ip-health] Wall Street Journal: Clinton Foundation, Unitaid Strike Deals on Price Cuts for AIDS Drugs

[Thiru Balasubramaniam]

http://online.wsj.com/article_print/SB120943380712251563.html

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A cocktail of second-line treatments for adults -- combining
tenofovir, lamivudine and lopinavir/ritonavir -- has been discounted
to about $659 a year, down from prevalent market prices ranging from
$1,000 to more than $4,000 a year in low- and middle-income countries,
respectively, said Anil Soni, the Clinton foundation's chief operating
officer.

Second-line treatments are typically newer, costlier products needed
when a virus mutates and becomes resistant to a patient's initial
treatment regimen. Mr. Soni said in a telephone interview from Geneva
that negotiating the annual discounts on second-line drugs "isn't a
slam dunk. We're continuing to drive away at it."

The latest price cuts stem from agreements with Indian generic makers
Aurobindo Pharma Ltd. and Cipla Ltd. and the Matrix Laboratories
division of Mylan Inc. of Canonsburg, Pa.

Unitaid is backing up the foundation-negotiated discounts with a $120
million purchase commitment for 2008, Mr. Soni said. The international
purchasing consortium of 27 countries was founded in 2006 to fund
drugs and diagnostics for AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria using novel
finance mechanisms.

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Clinton Foundation, Unitaid Strike
Deals on Price Cuts for AIDS Drugs
By MARILYN CHASE
April 29, 2008; Page D3

The Clinton Foundation HIV/AIDS Initiative and the international drug-
purchasing consortium Unitaid have struck deals that offer deeper
discounts on more than 40 generic AIDS drugs and create child-friendly
formulas for neediest victims of the pandemic.

The new prices offered by three generic drug makers run 19% lower than
discounts the Clinton foundation-Unitaid negotiated a year ago, and
16% to 46% lower than average market prices prevailing in low- to
middle-income countries.

Among the new discounts announced Monday is a $66-a-year price for a
combination treatment for children based on zidovudine, a staple of
AIDS treatment.

A cocktail of second-line treatments for adults -- combining
tenofovir, lamivudine and lopinavir/ritonavir -- has been discounted
to about $659 a year, down from prevalent market prices ranging from
$1,000 to more than $4,000 a year in low- and middle-income countries,
respectively, said Anil Soni, the Clinton foundation's chief operating
officer.

Second-line treatments are typically newer, costlier products needed
when a virus mutates and becomes resistant to a patient's initial
treatment regimen. Mr. Soni said in a telephone interview from Geneva
that negotiating the annual discounts on second-line drugs "isn't a
slam dunk. We're continuing to drive away at it."

The latest price cuts stem from agreements with Indian generic makers
Aurobindo Pharma Ltd. and Cipla Ltd. and the Matrix Laboratories
division of Mylan Inc. of Canonsburg, Pa.

Unitaid is backing up the foundation-negotiated discounts with a $120
million purchase commitment for 2008, Mr. Soni said. The international
purchasing consortium of 27 countries was founded in 2006 to fund
drugs and diagnostics for AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria using novel
finance mechanisms.

The latest deals cover six new pediatric formulas of staple AIDS
drugs, also backed by Unitaid money, making lifesaving medicines
easier to give to children. "For kids, it's incredibly important," Mr.
Soni said, noting that AIDS drug development for many years focused on
adults.

Write to Marilyn Chase at marilyn.chase@wsj.com1
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Thiru Balasubramaniam
Geneva Representative
Knowledge Ecology International (KEI)
thiru@keionline.org


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