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Drug manufacturer, Gilead Sciences on Tuesday announced that it would lower the price of the one-a-day HIV/AIDS drug, Viread, in every country in Africa.
The company was developing the 'Viread Access Programme' to sell the drug at "no profit," charging only for production and distribution costs, it said in a statement.
"Viread's efficacy, tolerability, resistance profile and once-daily dosing may make the drug strategically important in
resource-poor settings," said John Martin, president and chief executive officer of Gilead Sciences.
According to the statement, organisations that provided HIV treatment in the countries covered by the access programme would be able to apply to receive the drug at the "no-profit" price.
Application forms will be available through a dedicated website to be launched in early 2003 and can be submitted electronically.
The pharmaceutical company hopes to begin shipment of the drug by the middle of 2003.
Since it's approval, more than 65,000 patients have been prescribed Viread as part of combination therapy in the United States alone, the statement noted.
The United States Food and Drug Administration approved use of the drug in October 2001.
Several pharmaceutical companies are reported to have announced similar plans last year after coming under pressure from activists, generic drug makers and African governments.
For full prescribing information on Viread: www.viread.com
This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions