[Pharm-policy] Generic d4T in Thailand by GPO

[James Love]

Thanks to RJ for posting this on the healthgap list. Jamie


6   THAILAND:  PLANS PRODUCTION OF HIV DRUG AT REDUCED COST
     Thailand's state-run drug manufacturer yesterday began producing a
generic form of Bristol Myers Squibb's antiretroviral
Stavudine -- also known as d4T -- at one-seventh its retail price, the
Associated Press reports.  The Government Pharmaceutical Organization
plans to charge between 28 and 38 cents per tablet, compared to the
$2.56-$2.67 charged by the drug's American manufacturer, which markets
the drug as Zerit.  As a result, the monthly cost of AIDS treatment with
stavudine in combination with another AIDS drug, ddI, will be less than
$76.92 per month (Associated Press, 6/10).  Krisana Kraisintu, director
of the research and development institute at the GPO, said, "We need to
help AIDS patients to get cheaper drugs. ... Our research
and development will go on to develop other types of anti-AIDS drugs." 
The state pharmacy also has developed generic forms of
the antiretrovirals AZT and ddI.  While the government currently lacks
the capacity to produce the drugs for export, South Africa has expressed
interest in importing generic drugs produced in Thailand, Krisana said
(Torsricharoen, Japan Economic Newswire, 6/12).

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James Love, Director           | http://www.cptech.org
Consumer Project on Technology | mailto:love@cptech.org 
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