April 29, 2008

UNITAID and Clinton Foundation Announce HIV Med Price Cuts

The combined efforts of the William J. Clinton Foundation HIV/AIDS Initiative and UN-supported drug funding initiative UNITAID have enabled generic medicine manufacturers to lower the prices of their second-line antiretroviral medications, Agence France-Presse (AFP) reports (afp.google.com, 4/28).

The price cut would be as high as 19 percent for second-line treatments—including tenofovir, lamivudine and lopinavir/ritonavir—which are essential for patients who have developed resistance to first-line drugs. In addition to lowering the prices of these generics, UNITAID announced six new and affordable child-friendly formulations, made available through its pediatric project.

“Today’s announcement is an important step in helping to save the millions of children and adults infected with HIV in the developing world who still lack access to life-saving drugs,” President Bill Clinton told AFP yesterday.

According to the article, roughly 500,000 people will need second-line treatment by 2010.

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