New market access approach could save poorer countries millions
pharmafile | December 1, 2009 | News story | Sales and Marketing |Â Â HIV, access, developing worldÂ
An innovative approach to improving access to drugs for HIV/Aids, tuberculosis and malaria could save poorer countries millions of dollars every year.
Research by Boston University praised international drug purchase operation UNITAID’s work, saying it had revolutionised a number of important niches in the market for AIDS medicines.
University researchers added that the imminent creation of a patent pool for antiretrovirals (ARVs) could multiply those positive results leading to big cost savings.
Part of UNITAID’s work has been in effect to fund the creation of reliable markets for key second-line medicines by increasing and aggregating demand for them across 25 countries.
Generic competition has brought drug prices down, but new essential medicines are expensive, not adapted for use in poorer environments or are often not formulated for children.
The UNITAID initiative aims to create both demand and supply of new medicines at reduced cost, and to that end will set up the patent pool for antiretrovirals (ARVs) next year.
As an example of how UNITAID’s work could help, the university research reckons that Gilead’s fixed dose combination Atripla, already available generically for $465 per person per year, could drop to $190 in the pool’s first year of operation.
It could then steadily drop to about $100 in four years, it concludes.
“The impact of this kind of market intervention on public health could be tremendous,” said UNITAID chair Philippe Douste-Blazy.
“Other providers of medicines to the developing world and national governments can also tap into the greater pool of products available at a lower price,” he added.
“The dire reality of children dying of HIV-related causes in poor countries could soon be a thing of the past.”
UNITAID was set up three years ago by Brazil, France, Chile, Norway and the UK and has already committed one billion dollars to the diagnosis and treatment of the three diseases.
The organisation has already doubled the number of available fixed-dose combinations – three-in-one pills, which represent the best treatment option for children – from six to 12 by giving advance purchase guarantees to manufacturers.
Its work has also helped achieve cheaper second-line treatments, with price reductions of 40%-60%.
There is considerable activity in this area at present: in September former US President Bill Clinton struck deals with Pfizer – the first with any major pharma firm – and Mylan to cut the price of TB and HIV treatments in developing countries.
The Clinton Foundation agreements represents the first time a second-line regimen of four ARVs will be available for an annual cost of less than $500.
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