[Ip-health] AIDS Healthcare Foundation Press Release: "Shame on Abbott"

[Mike Palmedo]

http://www.aidshealth.org/news/press-releases/shame-on-abbott.html

"Shame On Abbott" - AIDS Healthcare Foundation=92s New Ad Campaign Blasts
Drug Company for Exploiting NAFTA to Charge Five Times More for Its Key
AIDS Drug Kaletra in Mexico Than in Other Middle-Income Countries

Los Angeles, CA
September 16, 2008

As part of its ongoing campaign to lower drug prices and improve access
to lifesaving AIDS treatments globally, AIDS Healthcare Foundation
(AHF), which operates three free treatment clinics in Mexico (Puerto
Vallarta, Cancun and Tuxtla Gutierrez) today unveiled a new print
advertisement criticizing Abbott Laboratories, Inc. for the steep price
it charges for its key AIDS drug Kaletra in Mexico. The ad, headlined
=91Shame on Abbott,=92 first appeared in the September 6th =93Weekend=94 ed=
ition
of the Lake County News-Sun, a regional daily newspaper covering parts
of the Chicago metropolitan area, and appeared again in the September
13th edition. As part of the first stage of the campaign, the ad is
scheduled to appear in the News-Sun over the next two weekends and will
be followed by further public awareness-raising efforts.

The advocacy ad blasts Abbott for charging Mexico five times more than
other middle-income countries for its key AIDS drug, Kaletra. By
exploiting patent protections in the North American Free Trade Agreement
(NAFTA), Abbott is able to charge Mexico $5,400 a year for Kaletra, a
key second-line treatment for people living with HIV/AIDS, while
charging $1,000 per year in Brazil=97a country with a similar economy to
Mexico. In the ad, AHF calls on Abbott to lower the price of Kaletra in
Mexico to the price offered in Brazil.

=93Abbott is once again living up to its terrible record on AIDS by
abusing NAFTA=92s patent protections to charge five times as much for
Kaletra in Mexico as it does in other middle-income countries, a
heartless business calculation that effectively makes this drug all but
out of reach for nearly all those living with HIV/AIDS in Mexico,=94 said
Michael Weinstein, AIDS Healthcare Foundation President. =93Through this
ad, AHF hopes to make policy makers and the public-at-large=97including
Abbott=92s employees and Illinois neighbors=97aware of the striking inequit=
y
in the company=92s corporate policies regarding its pricing of Kaletra in
Mexico. We call upon Abbott executives to end this price-gouging that
put profits ahead of saving lives.=94

=93Many patients=92 lives here in Mexico depend on access to drugs such as
Kaletra that are available elsewhere at a much lower cost,=94 said
Patricia Campos, M.D., AIDS Healthcare Foundation=92s Latin America Bureau
Chief, who is based in Mexico. =93We strongly urge Abbott to immediately
lower the price of Kaletra in Mexico to equal the price offered to
Brazil in order to ensure that people in need in Mexico are not priced
out of such potential lifesaving AIDS treatments.=94

Following is the full text of AHF=92s =91Shame on Abbott=92 advertisement:

Shame on Abbott

In Mexico, Abbott charges 5 times more for its AIDS medicine Kaletra
than it costs in other middle-income countries.

Abbott=92s Price Gouging in Mexico Puts Profits Ahead of Saving Lives

Abbott=92s AIDS medicine Kaletra is an important 2nd-line treatment for
people with AIDS, but Abbott is abusing NAFTA=92s patent protections to
force Mexico to pay 5 times more than it charges Brazil. Kaletra costs
$1,000 per year in Brazil, a country with a similar economy to Mexico,
but Abbott charges Mexico over $5,400. This represents one of the worst
examples to date of Abbott=92s terrible record on AIDS. Without affordable
pricing for Kaletra for people in Mexico thousands of lives will be lost.

AIDS Healthcare Foundation calls on Abbott to immediately lower the
price of Kaletra in Mexico to equal the price offered to Brazil.

For more information, please visit www.aidshealth.org.

# # #

In Latin America, AIDS Healthcare Foundation currently provides free
anti-retroviral treatment to people in need through its clinics in
Mexico (in Puerto Vallarta, Cancun and Tutxla Gutierriez, La Paz) and in
Guatemala (Quetzaltenango).

About AHF

AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) is the nation=92s largest non-profit
HIV/AIDS organization. AHF currently provides medical care and/or
services to more than 80,000 individuals in 22 countries worldwide in
the US, Africa, Latin America/Caribbean and Asia. Additional information
is available at www.aidshealth.org


--
Mike Palmedo
Research Coordinator
Program on Information Justice and Intellectual Property
American University, Washington College of Law
4910 Massachutsetts Ave., NW Washington, DC 20016
T - 202-274-4442 | F 202-274-0659
mpalmedo@wcl.american.edu