Look This Gift-Horse in the Mouth, Africa Told Over Cheap AIDS Drugs

Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2000. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.

Look This Gift-Horse in the Mouth, Africa Told Over Cheap AIDS Drugs

Agence France Presse (www.afp.com) (11/30/00)

The international relief organization Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) cautioned African countries on Thursday not to accept offers of reduced AIDS drug prices from big drug companies without weighing other options, such as importing or producing cheaper generic versions of the medicines. MSF campaigner Indra Van Gisbergen questioned why international drug firms do not allow Kenyan manufacturers, who have the capacity to produce the drugs themselves, to do so under voluntary licensing. The group noted that in Brazil more than 90,000 patients are using antiretroviral drugs that are non- proprietary versions while African nations continue to try to work with the drug companies directly.
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