BEIJING, Dec 1 (AFP) - A major producer of anti-AIDS drugs, Merck Sharp and Dohme, has said it will slash the Chinese prices of two drugs from this month, the official Xinhua news agency reported Saturday.
The company signed an agreement with China's Ministry of Health to cut by two-thirds the price of Crixivan and Stocrin from the start of this month, Xinhua said on World AIDS Day.
It quoted a Merck statement as saying the accord was "the result of long and intensive negotiations" with the ministry.
Until now, AIDS patients have been shelling out 100,000 yuan (12,000 dollars) for the cocktail treatment every year, way beyond the reach of most Chinese.
The Beijing Youth Daily said "there is as yet no alternative medicine in China" to treat AIDS.
Official figures put the number of HIV-positive cases in China at between 600,000 and 800,000.
Chinese authorities have vowed to hold the number of HIV cases below 1.5 million but United Nations experts say the real figure could reach 10 million by 2010 if the crisis is not addressed quickly.
China's rapid rise in AIDS cases has forced Beijing to launch a publicity campaign to counter the discrimination faced by sufferers.
Minister of Health Zhang Wenkang warned Friday against the spread of AIDS, saying it "is not any more limited to certain risk groups but extends to the entire population".
Beijing now admits up to 100,000 blood donors in the central province of Henan were infected by AIDS in the late 1980s and early 90s.
Neighbouring Hubei province this week said 30,000 residents had been infected by giving blood to unscrupulous blood banks, according to the semi-official China News Service.
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