OWN CORRESPONDENT, Johannesburg | Thursday
UNITED States pharmaceutical giant Pfizer is to start distributing the drug Diflucan free to HIV and Aids patients at government hospitals and clinics in the next few weeks, the health department and Pfizer said this week.
The department removed the final stumbling block to the distribution by approving Diflucan for the treatment of oesophageal candidiasis, a fungal infection of the throat that occurs in up to 40% of Aids patients.
The drug, generically known as Fluconazole, is already used in South Africa as treatment for cryptococcal meningitis, an infection of the brain that occurs in 10% of Aids patients.
Health Minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang said the approval was “a significant step forward in South Africa’s battle against HIV/Aids”.
A joint news release from the department and Pfizer said the drug-maker was developing labels that fulfil the requirements of the South African government and that distribution to patients would begin “within the next few weeks”.
Konji Sebati, a Pfizer representative, said the programme would include distribution to patients suffering from the two opportunistic diseases, and patient and physician education. Patients will be given the drug for as long as they need it.
Patients in the programme when it ends in December 2002 will continue to receive the medication free, Pfizer said.
Up to 100 000 South Africans are thought to suffer from the two illnesses.
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