Cheaper Aids drugs on the way
2003-12-10 13:24
Special Report
The South African government has announced a joint venture to reduce the cost of anti-retroviral drugs with a Swiss company.
Pretoria - Significantly lower Aids drugs prices are expected to result from agreements reached with two pharmaceutical companies.
GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) agreed to allow a second company to manufacture generic versions of three of its antiretroviral (ARV) drugs, Competition Commissioner Menzi Simelane announced on Wednesday.
It would also consider such applications from two more generic manufacturers.
The agreement came after an HIV-positive woman, Hazel Tau, complained to the Competition Commission that GSK and another pharmaceutical company, Boehringer Ingelheim (BI), contravened the provisions on limiting practices in the Competition Act by abusing their dominant position in the manufacturing of ARVs.
A number of other organisations, including the Treatment Action Campaign (TAC) and the Congress of SA Trade Unions (Cosatu), joined as complainants.
TAC leader Zackie Achmat told reporters in Pretoria that the complainants had reached a similar settlement to that of GSK with BI.
The commission hoped to finalise its discussions on the BI agreement by the end of the week, Simelane said.
"... We believe there will be sufficient generic competition to push prices down," he said.
Simelane hoped the prices could be reduced to at least the R329 per month which Achmat was paying for his treatment, through a special arrangement, if not lower.
The impact of the deal would hopefully be felt before the end of next year, he said.
- SAPA