AHF Calls Gilead's Plan to Cut AIDS Drug Prices in Middle-income Countries by Two-thirds 'Precedent-setting'
US' Largest AIDS Group Calls on Other Drug Companies to Follow Gilead's Lead and Make Lifesaving AIDS Drug Treatments More Affordable and Available in Middle Income Countries
AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) the largest US-based AIDS organization with free AIDS treatment clinics in the US, Africa, Asia and Latin America/Caribbean-today applauded Gilead Sciences, Inc. for its recent decision to cut the prices for its lifesaving antiretroviral AIDS drugs by almost two-thirds in middle-income countries such as Mexico and India.
"Gilead is to be commended for its precedent-setting move to cut its AIDS drug pricing for middle-income countries and help make its lifesaving medications truly more affordable around the world," said Michael Weinstein, President of AIDS Healthcare Foundation. "We hope that other drug companies will follow Gilead's lead and also reduce prices for AIDS drugs in many of these hard-hit middle-income countries."
At present, most middle-income countries (MICs) are not eligible for benefits from many of the same policies, programs and agreements that now promote anti-retroviral treatment (ART) access in least developed countries (LDCs) where AIDS drug treatment can cost less that $200 annually per person. As a result, in a middle-income country like Mexico, which has a per capita annual income of approx. $6,000USD, AIDS drugs for one person in Mexico cost $8,000USD annually -- or 30% more than an average individual's income or salary. Many AIDS advocates believe definitions of middle-income countries should not be applied to treatment access issues around the HIV/AIDS epidemic because the price of antiretroviral treatment is so exorbitant: the current definition is an inaccurate measure of the countries' ability to address their HIV/AIDS needs. Policy makers, opinion leaders and advocates need to come together and rally around this issue to increase access in middle-income countries to these lifesaving anti-retroviral treatments.
Least developed countries, defined by the World Bank as countries with an annual per capita Gross National Income (GNI) of less than $765 are generally most affected by the HIV/AIDS epidemic and, as such, have access to policies, programs and agreements that aim to improve the countries' abilities to access much needed life-saving medicines. In contrast, the impact of the epidemic is often just as great in many middle-income countries (with per capita GNIs from $766 to $9,385).
"With a per capita Gross National Income of $6,790, Mexico is defined as a middle-income country; however, the average annual cost for first-line ART regimens is currently over $8,000," noted Weinstein, the president of AHF, which operates free treatment clinics in Mexico. "The world hasn't really picked up on the fact that such potentially lifesaving AIDS drugs are simply just too expensive for people in Mexico and other middle-income countries to afford, and there is still not enough money to expect the country to be able to afford to treat its people when the prices of these drugs are so high. Policy makers, opinion leaders and advocates need to come together and rally around this issue. Gilead has shown real leadership with its substantial price cut; we urge other drug companies to follow its example."
Source: AIDS Healthcare Foundation
