AIDS activists in South Africa have welcomed US drug giant Merck’s offer to slash the price of its Aids drug treatments in developing countries – but say the company has still not gone far enough.
Merck announced this week it would reduce the price for Crixivan (indinavir sulfate) to $600 per year and Stocrin (efavirenz) to $500 in developing countries with immediate effect. The company said the new prices will be a reduction of more than 40%.
“While we welcome the announcement by Merck to reduce prices, their patented products are still above those offered, for example by the Indian manufacturer Hetero for $347 year,” said Toby Kasper of the French group Medecins Sans Frontieres (Doctors without Borders).
“They are moving in the right direction but have still not gone far enough.?
The director of the National Association of People living with Aids (Napwa), Nkululeko Nxesi, said the offer showed that “pharmaceutical companies are beginning to feel the pressure exerted by the poor people, particularly those with HIV/Aids, in their struggle for affordable treatment.”
“We welcome the move as long as it is genuine. They must not only make public annoucements, as they have done in the past, but put their offer in writing and link up with governments.”
Merck’s announcement comes days after the start of a court bid by 39 pharmaceutical companies to have a South African law that allows the government to import and produce cheaper versions of branded drugs, scrapped.
Nxesi said Merck should “link up with their sister companies and ask them to drop the case against the South African government.”
The cost of Aids drugs is due to take centre stage in the case after the court Tuesday decided to allow activists to make a submission highlighting the plight of victims of the disease who lack access to affordable treatment.
South Africa has the fastest rate of HIV infection in the world and about 10% of the adult population, or 4.2 million people, are HIV positive according to UN figures. – AFP
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