Access to antiretrovirals in South Africa.

Two pharmaceutical companies which produce antiretroviral HIV/AIDS drugs have recently announced separate initiatives to help South Africans gain access to these medications. GlaxoSmithKline has given a South African company Aspen Pharmacare the right to make generic copies of ziduvodine 3TC and a pill that combines the two. Glaxo will waive all royalties; instead Aspen will pay 30% of net sales to nongovernment organizations (NGOs) fighting HIV/AIDS in South Africa. The success of this scheme however relies on the South African government. The South African NGO Treatment Action Campaign with the support of hundreds of local medical professionals is suing the government to force it to provide nevirapine to pregnant women with HIV to reduce their risk of transmitting the virus to their babies. In a related development the pharmaceutical company Boehringer Ingelheim is on the verge of concluding an agreement to supply the South African Ministry of Health with free nevirapine an offer made over a year ago but accepted only a few weeks ago. In the UK a survey has shown that 87% of respondents believe that people living with HIV/AIDS in poor countries should pay less for medications that people in the UK while 79% thought that the government should ensure that they have access to cheap drugs. Britains international development secretary will meet leaders of the pharmaceutical industry to discuss how to lower the cost of life- saving antiretrovirals in Africa and elsewhere. (full text)