AIDS foundation scolds Abbott

"Shame on Abbott" said the AIDS Healthcare Foundation, which is loudly calling into question the pricing policies of Abbott Laboratories in Mexico.

Abbott, the Foundation claims, is picking on Mexico, charging the country five times what it charges other middle-income countries (the Foundation cites Brazil as an example) for Kaletra, a protease inhibitor used in combination with other drugs to treat infection with HIV. To raise awareness, the AIDS Healthcare Foundation is running ads in Abbott's headquarter state of Illinios. In the ad the foundation proclaims, "Abbott's price gouging in Mexico puts profits ahead of saving lives."

This is not the first time AIDS activists have taken Abbott's decisions on the AIDS medication to task. The company has previously raised controversy regarding a new version of Kaletra in Thailand and pricing issues in Colombia. 

The Foundation operates free treatment clinics in Puerto Vallarta, Cancun and Tuxtla Gutierrez, Mexico, and has previously raised concerns about GlaxoSmithKline and Merck. Its first ads against Abbott Labs appeared September 6, 2008 in a regional daily paper in Illinois. 

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