---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Thu, 09 Nov 2000 16:03:13 -0800
From: Charlotte Utting <[log in to unmask]>
Reply-To: [log in to unmask]
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: [wa-afr] FW: Kenya dragging feet on Brazil drug offer
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From: "Videlis Nzioka Nduba" <[log in to unmask]>
Reply-To: [log in to unmask]
Date: Wed, 08 Nov 2000 15:39:08 -0800
To: "International Health" <[log in to unmask]>
Subject: RE: Kenya dragging feet on Brazil drug offer
Kenya dragging feet on Brazil drug offer
Brazil offered Third World countries free Aids drugs five months ago.
Kenya could be the second African country to benefit from the price
reduction offer on the Aids essential drugs after Senegal.
Senegal was among the first major beneficiaries of the current lower
price offers on Aids essential drugs after a series of negotiations with
the world’s top pharmaceutical giants.
Based on the Senegalese offer, doubts have been raised as to whether
these pharmaceutical firms are genuinely out to participate in improving
the public health of poor countries or if it is a mere alarm response to
the stiff competition being posed by the generic manufacturing and
selling of their drugs.
Carmen Perez-Casas of Access to Essential Medicines in a letter said,
"This new type of ‘differential pricing’ is a good thing for the
patients of Senegal, but is it not more logical and efficient in the
long term to buy generics?"
"In fact, could it not be the possibility of competition from generics
that has caused these pharmaceutical firms to reduce their prices?"
asked Perez Casas.
According to him, doubts are already being raised when one reads that,
"some of the companies don’t want to publicise the exact prices to which
they are agreeing because they want the flexibility to negotiate
different prices with different nations.
Brazil, which manufactures most of these HIV/Aids drugs in their generic
forms has been able to drastically reduce their cost to its
approximately 85,000 Aids sufferers and increased its accessibility to
the majority of the population.
For instance in Brazil today, the price for the Stavudine-Didanosine
drug combination has been effectively reduced to $2.60 (Sh 191) per day
while that of AZT/3TC costs $1.40 (Sh103) per day. Other places, like in
India, it is possible to find other generics with similar prices made by
other manufacturers due to competition.
However faced by a possible threat by countries like Brazil or Thailand
which had gone on their own to manufacture these drugs, BMS offered a
similar combination to Brazil’s Stavudine-Didanosine but branded
Zerit-Videx at $1.60 (Kshs.118) per day to Senegal. Glaxo on its part
offered Combivir, an equivalent of AZT/3TC at less than $2.00 (Kshs.
147) per day.
Medicins Sans Frontieres, has in the past argued, "what is missing from
the drug companies' efforts are plans to cut drug costs and allow
generic versions of medicines to be distributed."
They have further argued, philanthropic efforts "need to be put into
perspective" since past experience "shows that these programs are likely
to come with unacceptable conditions for national health ministries and
will not be sustainable over the long term."
"What happens if they decide to pull out after some years?" asked Dr
Chris Ouma of Action-Aid Kenya. "Will the same prices dictate after some
dependency has been created," he asked.
One would wonder, with this scenario where Africa is now vulnerable to
any negotiatons, what obligations must the Senegalese have accepted for
the price reduction? One would hope for transparency on these agreements
in order to be fully satisfied with these price reductions.
Videlis N Nduba
IARTP
UW, Box 359909
Seattle, WA 98195
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