Brazilian health officials picked the generic form of a popular AIDS drug to be used in its public treatment program.The patent request for a drug made by U.S. firm Gilead was rejected as government officials deemed it “lacked technological inventiveness.” The real culprit, however, may be cost; a WHO-approved generic drug from India costs $158 per person, roughly 9% as much as the $1,387 per person cost of the Gilead drug.
International medical group Doctors Without Borders praised Brazil’s decision and claimed that it will open the door for wider global access to AIDS drugs:
The decision now means that the medicine can be produced by Brazilian generic companies or imported from other generic sources from abroad. With around 31,000 people currently receiving the drug through Brazil's universal AIDS treatment programme, and an estimated 37,000 by the end of 2008, the consequences on the sustainability of Brazil's efforts to provide AIDS treatment for all will be considerable…
"This sets an important precedent for people living with HIV/AIDS in all developing countries whose lives depend on these treatments," said Leena Menghaney, MSF's Access Campaigner in India.
Brazil has previously opted for generic versions of other antiretroviral drugs and has also reached deals with foreign drug firms to provide their medicines at discounted prices.
Image- Pharmalot
Sources- The Latin Americanist, Doctors Without Borders, Reuters, News-Medical.net
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