TAC says price drop not enough
2003-04-28 22:01
Special Report
The South African government has announced a joint venture to reduce the cost of anti-retroviral drugs with a Swiss company.
Johannesburg - Insufficient is how the Treatment Action Campaign views the announcement by pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline that it will cut the prices of its HIV/Aids drugs by up to 47% for countries eligible for reduced prices.
The reduction will drop the price of Combivir, an HIV/Aids treatment recommended by the World Health Organisation, to 90 cents a day in 63 developing countries, including South Africa.
The pharmaceutical company announced it would also reduce the price of Epivir, commonly known at 3TC and Retrovir, also known as AZT, by 45% and 38% respectively.
TAC spokesperson Nathan Geffen said on Monday the price reduction was not being made available to pharmacies which was where most patients got their medication.
"Only about 1 000 people get their medication through the public-health system. Most people get their medication in the private sector."
Geffen said the only way to keep prices substantially low was through generic competition.
Pressure from around the world
He said GlaxoSmithKline also needed to clarify if it was going to lower the price of Lamibudine. Combivir is made up of AZT and Lamibudine.
"Often doctors want to prescribe the Lamibudine without the AZT. Lamibudine is excessively priced. Are they going to lower its price?"
Geffen said Glaxo had not lowered the prices because "they were nice people", but because of pressure brought on them by activists around the world.
"This pressure cannot be maintained forever. We need to introduce generic competition," he said.
He said while Glaxo's action was insufficient, the positive side was that the drugs were being offered to employers who were treating their workers who were not part of medical-aid plans.
- SAPA