Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2008. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
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Wall Street Journal - April 29, 2008
Marilyn Chase, marilyn.chase@wsj.com
The new prices offered by three generic drug makers run 19% lower than discounts the Clinton foundation-Unitaid negotiated a year ago, and 16% to 46% lower than average market prices prevailing in low- to middle-income countries.
Among the new discounts announced Monday is a $66-a-year price for a combination treatment for children based on zidovudine, a staple of AIDS treatment.
A cocktail of second-line treatments for adults -- combining tenofovir, lamivudine and lopinavir/ritonavir -- has been discounted to about $659 a year, down from prevalent market prices ranging from $1,000 to more than $4,000 a year in low- and middle-income countries, respectively, said Anil Soni, the Clinton foundation's chief operating officer.
Second-line treatments are typically newer, costlier products needed when a virus mutates and becomes resistant to a patient's initial treatment regimen. Mr. Soni said in a telephone interview from Geneva that negotiating the annual discounts on second-line drugs "isn't a slam dunk. We're continuing to drive away at it."
The latest price cuts stem from agreements with Indian generic makers Aurobindo Pharma Ltd. and Cipla Ltd. and the Matrix Laboratories division of Mylan Inc. of Canonsburg, Pa.
Unitaid is backing up the foundation-negotiated discounts with a $120 million purchase commitment for 2008, Mr. Soni said. The international purchasing consortium of 27 countries was founded in 2006 to fund drugs and diagnostics for AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria using novel finance mechanisms.
The latest deals cover six new pediatric formulas of staple AIDS drugs, also backed by Unitaid money, making lifesaving medicines easier to give to children. "For kids, it's incredibly important," Mr. Soni said, noting that AIDS drug development for many years focused on adults.
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