AIDS

AIDS foundation scolds Abbott

Christe Bruderlin-Nelson — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 05:40:09 -0400

"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.

- check out the release
- read the Pharmalot blog post

Merck cuts deals on AIDS meds

Tracy Staton — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 14:43:00 -0400

Merck is garnering some goodwill in the AIDS community with price-freezes and discounts on its HIV-fighting drugs. First, Merck agreed to keep the new, novel med Isentress at its launch price until 2010 for state-run AIDS Drug Assistance Programs. The freeze comes after pressure from the activist group Fair Pricing Coalition, which had been lobbying Merck to launch Istentress at a "price that offers a reasonable profit" without taxing the pocketbooks of patients and payers.

By keeping the price at its current $9,900 a year, Merck got a thumbs up from the group, which said, "This is a tribute to the value of having open, ongoing discussions with drug companies. Other drugmakers have frozen their AIDS med prices, too, including Gilead Sciences and Boehringer Ingelheim.

Meanwhile, Merck agreed to discount Istentress and another anti-HIV med, Stocrin, by up to 40 percent for patients in Mexico. That arrangement was announced by Mexican Health Secretary Jose Angel Cordova at the big AIDS summit now taking place in Mexico City.

- check out the FPC's press release
- read the post at Pharmalot

HIV drugs may find preventive use

Tracy Staton — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 10:09:00 -0400

Should HIV drugs be used to prevent infection with the deadly virus? Some say yes. Given the fact that vaccine developers have to start all over on their anti-HIV shot, and microbicides haven't shown much promise either, prophylactic use of antiretroviral drugs seems like a logical choice.

Obviously, extending the use of the drugs these experts are looking at--Viread (tenofovir) and Emtriva (emtricitabine)--would be a big boost to their maker, which happens to be Gilead Sciences (though cheaper versions are made for some markets by Indian companies). But--and this is a big "but"--clinical trials have to be run first. A couple of countries already are conducting tests, and others are in the works.

Initial results might come as early as next year, though. And some experts say these drugs are now the most promising tools for HIV prevention, at least as a stop-gap as vaccine research continues.

- check out the story in the New York Times
- see the Financial Times story

Lancet: Glaxo HIV med boosts cardiac risk

Wed, 02 Apr 2008 07:59:56 -0400

A leading AIDS med made by GlaxoSmithKline carries nearly double the risk of heart attack compared with other anti-HIV meds, according to a new study published by the Lancet. Abacavir--which recently was anointed a "preferred choice" for first-time AIDS treatment--stepped up heart attack risk by 90 percent, the 33,000-patient study showed. EU drug regulators asked GSK for more data on the drug so they might better analyze the potential risk.

AIDS treatment experts said that, because the study didn't identify a biological cause for the increased risk, they might not choose to switch patients off the med. Plus, the patients most likely to develop heart problems with abacavir are those with underlying medical problems such as diabetes and high blood pressure--but the alternative drug can cause kidney problems in those patients.

GSK sped out a statement in response, saying that analysis of its own data on 9,600 patients show no increased risks (But the EMEA notes that these studies weren't designed to check for cardiac risks). Even if the heart attack risk were doubled, it would still be quite low, the company said: 6 per 1,000 patients versus 3 per 1,000.

- see GSK's statement
- read the European Medicines Agency release
- get more from the BBC
- find this story from the San Francisco Chronicle
- check out the MarketWatch news on the EU

ALSO: India's Cipla makes its anti-HIV meds by circumventing other companies' patents, making it the largest AIDS drug supplier in the world. Supporters say CEO Yusuf Hamied has saved countless lives by making meds affordable; critics call him a pirate and opportunist. Report | Report

Related Articles:
Feds steering funds back to basic AIDS vax research. Report
Merck halts study of "ineffective" HIV vaccine. Report
GSK allows generic AIDS drug. Report