----- Original Message -----
From: Nathan Geffen <ngeffen@cs.uct.ac.za>
To: <list@tac.org.za>
Sent: Friday, February 09, 2001 2:51 PM
Subject: Medecins Sans Frontieres Press Release

> Apologies for the unusually high volume of mail to the TAC mailing list
this
> week, but there have been urgent developments. Below is an important
> statement from Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF).
>
> ***********
> 9 Feb 2001
> ***********
>
> The offer described therein was first reported on in the New York
> Times in an article available at
> www.nytimes.com/2001/02/07/health/07AIDS.html.
> Regards,
> Toby Kasper
> MSF - South Africa
>
> Treatment for AIDS Available for 90% Off South African Prices
>
> 7 February 2001, Khayelitsha, Cape Town - The Indian generic manufacturer
> Cipla Ltd. has today offered to sell Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) triple
> combination antiretroviral therapy for people with HIV/AIDS for US$350
> (R2,727 at today's exchange rate) per patient per year.
>
> As stated in the attached press release from the headquarters of MSF's
> Access to Essential Medicines Campaign in Geneva, we welcome this move.
>
> Cipla's price is more than 90% off the current South African wholesale
price
> of R28,744, so for the same amount of money ten times the number of people
> with HIV/AIDS can be put on antiretroviral therapy.
>
> In South Africa, most antiretrovirals are protected by patents, which give
> pharmaceutical companies monopolies, allowing them to charge high prices.
> We call on patent holders to either immediately match Cipla's move and cut
> prices by at least 90% or issue voluntary licences allowing local generic
> production.
>
> In South Africa, MSF works in primary health care centres in Khayelitsha
> providing care for people with HIV/AIDS.  We have worked with local and
> international experts to develop a protocol for the use of antiretrovirals
> in Khayelitsha, and we are ready to begin therapy.
>
> While MSF respects intellectual property rights, as doctors tending to
> people in dire need of treatment, we believe that it would be unethical to
> turn down an offer that will allow us to treat ten times the number of
> people with HIV/AIDS simply so that a company can earn more profits.
>
> For more information, please contact:
> Eric Goemaere           082 332 9712
> Toby Kasper             082 332 9713
>
>
> [MSF international press release]
>
> AIDS Triple-Therapy for Less than $1/Day
> MSF Challenges Pharmaceutical Industry to Match Generic Prices
>
> 7 February 2001, Geneva - Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) welcomes the
> announcement made by generic drug manufacturer Cipla, that it will sell
its
> triple-combination therapy for AIDS to MSF for $350 per year per patient
and
> to governments for $600/year.  The details of the offer request that
> government purchases have the "backing of MSF," which is not practical or
> necessary, therefore MSF requests that Cipla offer this price directly to
> governments and UN agencies.
>
> This offer demonstrates that the target price of $200/year, set out in an
> MSF report at the international AIDS conference in Durban last July, is
> almost within reach.  The $350 price is a discount of 96.6% off the price
of
> the same combination in the US, which would cost about $10,400.
>
> For the short term, MSF calls on the five pharmaceutical companies
involved
> in the UNAIDS Accelerating Access Initiative to match the current offer,
> make their prices public, and streamline the implementation process, so
that
> drugs can be delivered as quickly as possible to patients.  The offer by
> Indian generic manufacturer Cipla demonstrates that proprietary companies
> can immediately reduce their prices further.  On World AIDS Day, MSF
called
> on the five companies to lower their US prices by 95%.  No company has
> responded positively.   Under the UNAIDS initiative, Senegal is currently
> paying $1008 to $1821 per year - almost three times the generic price --
> while companies have refused to disclose prices for Uganda and Rwanda.
>
> Political commitment to combating AIDS and improving access to treatment
is
> a cornerstone of defeating this epidemic.  For example, the political
> commitment of the government of Brazil has successfully cut AIDS deaths in
> half, largely thanks to its ability to produce generic AIDS medicines.
> Large-scale quality producers, including the government of Brazil, can
both
> supply life-saving medicines to other developing countries and support
their
> efforts to begin domestic production.
>
> Developing countries should take full advantage of their rights to produce
> or import generic AIDS drugs under the WTO TRIPS agreement.
>
> The immediate challenge is to convert this generic price into action.  The
> international community must now provide political, practical, and
financial
> support.  Political support is needed for developing countries to overcome
> barriers posed by patents.  The UN system can provide practical support
> through procurement and distribution assistance.  And donors can provide
> financial support by allocating funds for purchase of drugs and
> implementation of antiretroviral treatment programmes.  An international
> meeting should immediately convene developing countries, UN agencies, drug
> manufacturers, and funders to determine the best strategy for
> implementation.
>