Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 1989. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
The Associated Press - Tuesday, September 19, 1989
The company said, however, that it could not guarantee that the full savings would be passed on to consumers, who have been paying as much as $7,000 to $8,000 per year for the drug.
The reduction, effective immediately, reduces the price to the wholesale distributor from $1.50 to $1.20 per capsule.
AIDS activists have been pressing Burroughs Wellcome to reduce the cost of AZT, called Retrovir commercially.
On Thursday, five protesters chained themselves to a banister at the New York Stock Exchange to protest the cost. Three of the five were described as infected with AIDS.
Company spokesman Thack Brown said the decision to cut the price was based on test results showing that people who are infected with the AIDS virus but who show no symptoms can benefit from the drug.
"That means more patients will be using the drugs, which broadens the financial risk," he said.
At the five-capsules-a-day regimen used in recent trials among HIV-infected patients with no symptoms, Burroughs Wellcome's price for Retrovir would be $6 a day, or about $2,200 a year.
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