'Give Africa new Aids drug'
2006-03-15 19:45
Special Report
The South African government has announced a joint venture to reduce the cost of anti-retroviral drugs with a Swiss company.
Lagos - Medical aid agency Medecins sans Frontieres called on a major US drugs firm on Wednesday to make an anti-Aids drug, which needs no refrigeration, available to electricity-deprived Africans.
Last year the pharmaceutical giant Abbott got US approval for a new version of its anti-retroviral Kaletra, which can be stored safely without a fridge and is therefore ideal for use in Nigeria and other hot African countries.
"Today, MSF starts a global campaign to make Kaletra available in developing countries," spokesperson Tobias Luppe told a news conference in the Nigerian city of Lagos, where the agency runs a project to help HIV/Aids sufferers.
"MSF is deeply concerned that Abbott's new version of the second-line fixed dose marketed as Kaletra, is not available in developing countries," the group said in a statement, issued at the same briefing.
New Kaletra is a combination of the HIV inhibitor lopinavir and booster drug ritonavir and apart from being heat-stable, also has a lower daily dose of tablets and need not be taken with food.
"Basically its just the 'designer drug' for the African setting. It's one of the most effective as well and urgently needed for our patients," added Jens Wenkel, one MSF's doctors working on Aids.
Although registered with the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in October last year, MSF has been told that the company will have to wait until new Kaletra is registered in Europe before taking it to developing countries.
"This means a potential delay for years before this drug reaches the people that can benefit the most from it," MSF said.
Abbott has given no details of pricing or distribution plans for Africa.
An older heat-unstable form of Kaletra has been on the market since 2002 for about $500 per patient per year.
After a number of days out of the fridge however, the soft-gel capsule "turns into what looks like a piece of chewing gum and becomes unusable," MSF said.
"If made accessable and affordable, the new and improved version of Kaletra could offer major benefits to patients across the developing world," it added.
MSF said it had put its requests to the Chicago-based company in a letter signed by other renowned Aids campaigners such as UN Aids envoy in Africa, Stephen Lewis and Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health.
The agenct is asking the company to "immediately register the new drug in all countries were the older form had been registered as well as in other developing countries."
MSF said it placed two orders with Abbott for both old and new Kaletra but would insist on paying $500 per patient per year for both the old and the new version which has a price tag of $9 687 attached to it.
Nigeria late last year announced free antiretroviral treatment for people living with HIV and Aids in Africa's most populous country.
Some 3.5 million people in Africa's most populous country either live with HIV or Aids out of an estimated population of 130 million.
Abbott, in a statement released on its website on Monday said it remained committed to help treating HIV-infected children in developing countries.
The company said it had provided 42 million free rapid Aids tests in Africa and trained more than 15 000 health-care workers in countries like Tanzania and elsewhere.
- SAPA