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Merck to slash anti-AIDS drug price

    JOHANNESBURG

    US drug company Merck says it plans to cut the price of its second-line anti-AIDS drug, Stocrin, by up to 20 percent in developing countries.

    Global campaigners have been pushing drug firms to bring down the cost of second-line therapies, which are used when HIV-positive people have become resistant to first-line medications.

    However, Merck officials maintained that the decision to lower prices was the result of cost-saving in manufacturing processes at their new drug plant in Australia.

    "At the end of the day, the prices we're making available are within pennies of those offered by the generic producers," Merck spokesman Jeffrey Sturchio told Reuters.

    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

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