PHM-Exch> UNITAID PRESS RELEASE -- INDIA'S CENTRAL ROLE IN AIDS MEDICINES SUPPLY COULD BE THREATENED BY TRADE AGREEMENTS, NEW STUDY SAYS

[Claudio Schuftan]

From: bala at haiap.org <bala at haiap.org>

> http://www.jiasociety.org/content/13/1/35
>
>
>
>>
>> *UNITAID PRESS RELEASE*
>>
>> *INDIA'S CENTRAL ROLE IN AIDS MEDICINES SUPPLY COULD BE THREATENED BY
>> TRADE AGREEMENTS, NEW STUDY SAYS*
>>
>>
>> /Geneva, 14 September 2010/ — A new study to be published today reveals
>> that Indian generic manufacturers have supplied more than 80% of
>> donor-funded AIDS medicines to developing countries in the last seven years.
>>  However, it warns that upcoming trade agreements India is currently
>> negotiating may close the tap on affordable medicines for AIDS patients.
>>  The news coincides with a global funding crisis in the area of AIDS while
>> at the same time new clinical evidence demonstrates that greater investments
>> are needed to address the disease.
>>
>> "The findings of this study raise grave concerns for us because UNITAID
>> relies heavily on Indian generic manufacturers to supply quality-assured,
>> patient-friendly, low cost AIDS medicines in over 50 countries," said Jorge
>> Bermudez, UNITAID Executive Secretary.  "What we need today is a more
>> flexible approach to scale up treatment and not the opposite."
>>
>> /A lifeline to treatment: the role of Indian generic manufacturers in
>> supplying antiretroviral medicines to developing countries,/ published today
>> by the Journal of the International AIDS Society, explains that a global
>> trade agreement - known as Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property
>> (TRIPS) - which has bound India to apply product patents since 2005 - has
>> already begun to curtail the country's ability to produce low-cost generic
>> versions of newer medicines.  New trade agreements being currently discussed
>> may further reduce India's vital role as provider of life-saving treatments.
>>
>> The study comes at a time when the World Health Organization (WHO) has
>> introduced new recommendations for people living with HIV/AIDS to begin
>> treatment earlier and to switch to newer medicines that are more robust and
>> less toxic but also much more expensive.  This means that more people than
>> foreseen will need treatment today and in the next years and that the cost
>> of treatment could skyrocket if the new products cannot be made available at
>> the more affordable generic prices.
>> "If Indian manufacturers cannot meet these demands, a lot of the progress
>> we have made in the last seven years will be reversed," added Jorge
>> Bermudez.
>>
>> AIDS treatment has experienced startling progress over recent years, with
>> about four million people starting treatment between 2003 and 2008, largely
>> due to India's ability to produce low-cost quality medicines and to healthy
>> competition among India's producers.  For instance, the Indian generic
>> version of the most commonly used first-line adult regimen
>> (lamivudine/nevirapine/stavudine) dropped from $414/person/year in 2003 to
>> $74/person/year in 2008.
>>
>> Since 2006, Indian-produced generic antiretrovirals (ARVs) have accounted
>> for more than 80% of the donor-funded developing country market, and
>> comprised 87% of ARV purchase volumes in 2008.  The proportion of ARVs
>> produced by Indian manufacturers is even higher within certain market
>> niches.  In 2008, Indian-produced generics accounted for 91% of paediatric
>> ARV volume.
>>
>> By 2008, Indian generic ARVs accounted for 65% of the total value (US $463
>> million) of ARV purchases reported, while non-Indian generic and innovator
>> ARVs accounted for 13% and 22% of market value, respectively.  The number of
>> Indian generic manufacturers supplying ARVs to low- and middle-income
>> countries increased from four to 10 from 2003 to 2008, while the number of
>> Indian-produced generic ARV products increased from 14 to 53 over the same
>> time period.
>>
>> The report concludes that "Free Trade Agreements that may create new
>> intellectual property obligations for India can increase ARV prices, impede
>> the development of acceptable dosage forms, and delay access to newer and
>> better ARVs. Such measures can undermine the international goal to achieve
>> universal access to HIV/AIDS interventions and the 2001 WTO Doha Declaration
>> on TRIPS and Public Health.  Rather than agreeing to inappropriate IP
>> obligations, India and its trade partners - along with international
>> organizations, donors, national governments, civil society, and
>> pharmaceutical manufacturers - should ensure that there is sufficient policy
>> space for the Indian generic industry to continue its central role in
>> supplying developing countries with low-cost, quality-assured generic
>> medicines."
>>  _http://www.jiasociety.org/content/13/1/35_
>>
>>
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://phm.phmovement.org/pipermail/phm-exchange-phmovement.org/attachments/20100915/b356ed89/attachment.html>