[e-drug] MSF issues 9th ARV price list

["E-Drug" <e-drug@healthnet.org>]

E-DRUG: MSF issues 9th ARV price list
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[MSF has issued the 9th version of their "Untangling the web". Prices for the cheapest firstline treatment have fallen to USD 132 (generic) or $ 556 (brandname). WB]

>From the background:

"This is the ninth edition of Untangling the web of price reductions: a pricing guide for the purchase of ARVs for developing countries. The report was first published by Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) in October 2001[1] in response to the lack of transparent and reliable information about prices of pharmaceutical products on the international market - a factor which significantly hampers access to essential medicines in developing countries.

The purpose of this document is to provide information on prices and suppliers that will help purchasers make informed decisions when
buying antiretrovirals (ARVs). This report is a pricing guide and does not include detailed information about the quality of the products
listed. For further information on quality, please see box 1. Since the first edition of "Untangling", prices of some first-line ARVs have fallen significantly due to competition between multiple producers. However, MSF finds that there are still common problems affecting the availability of the most needed essential medicines:

(1) that in the absence of competition from multiple producers, companies may charge prohibitive prices (this is particularly the case for the most recent ARVs, including those recommended in the 2006 WHO treatment guidelines[2] for both firstand second-line), 

(2) that most originator companies establish a country premium, thereby excluding patients in some developing countries, 

(3) that even if companies announce discounted prices for their products in some eligible developing countries, the products are in fact not always available or affordable, and (4) that paediatric HIV/AIDS is neglected by most pharmaceutical companies.
"

The full report is available at http://www.accessmed-msf.org/documents/untanglingtheweb%209.pdf

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Wilbert Bannenberg, E-drug moderator
Email: wjb@planet.nl

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