Free drugs for HIV patients

Pfizer, the international pharmaceutical company, says that it has made an offer to the South African government to provide free drugs to poor AIDS/HIV patients.

Thabi Nyide, associate director for corporate affairs of Pfizer-South Africa told IRIN on Tuesday that the offer involved one specific drug, Diflucan, which is used to treat AIDS patients suffering from cryptococcal meningitis.

"This offer is an over time donation in that it does have a time limit on it," Nyide told IRIN. She added that the details of Pfizer's offer still had to be discussed with the department of health. "We have sent a letter through to the department outlining our proposal and we now are waiting for their response."

Cryptococcal meningitis is an infection of the brain and affects between eight and ten percent of AIDS patients in South Africa annually. If taken in time, Diflucan can help to contain the disease and relieve pain and turn a normally terminal disease into a chronic but treatable illness. Initially in the first two weeks of treatment patients are required to take two tablets a
day followed by one tablet daily for the rest of their lives.

It is not yet clear if the South African government will accept Pfizer's offer. The government has recently, amid controversy questioned the safety of AIDS treatment drugs. The ministry of health told IRIN that it had received Pfizer's letter and was studying the offer.

AIDS activists in South Africa are divided on the proposal. The Treatment Action Campaign said that it welcomed the decision and have called on other major pharmaceutical companies to emulate Pfizer's example. "In particular, we call on Glaxo Wellcome to follow Pfizer's lead and make AZT available for reducing the risk of mother-to-child transmission."

However some AIDS campaigners have expressed concerns about details of the proposal. "It's all very well to say here is a donation, but what happens to patients when that donation runs out. You can't start this kind of treatment and then suddenly stop. A more long term solution has to be found. One
option would be to introduce a system of pay as you earn or introduce generics into the country," an AIDS activist told IRIN.

In its response Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) said in a statement on Tuesday that it welcomed the announcement but cautioned that a "donation was not a long term solution". "We're delighted that at least one step has been made toward providing treatments for AIDS patients - but is it a sustainable
option?" MSF said.

Last year Pfizer's profits from the sale of Diflucan was an estimated US $1 billion. A single dose costs between US $10 and US $14.