Local firms seek permission to produce HIV/AIDS drugs

Pharmaceutical companies in Uganda have appealed to the government to allow them to start local production of generic HIV/AIDS drugs, AFP reported on Sunday. It quoted Director-General of Health Services Francis Omaswa as saying that the health ministry was deciding whether to allow local manufacturers to make cheaper versions of the anti-retroviral drugs (ARVs) used to treat the disease. “Several companies are interested in making the drugs and have already acquired the necessary technology. We are coming up with a policy stand in three weeks’ time,” Omaswa was quoted as saying. However, an official in the National Drug Authority (NDA) said the technology that would be used to produce ARVs locally was the main concern in deciding whether to give clearance to local manufacturers, AFP added. It is estimated that 834,000 Ugandans have died of HIV/AIDS and a further 1.5 million are currently living with the virus. Although generic drugs could cut the cost of treatment from about US $675 per month to US $269, the reduced price would still put the drugs beyond the reach of most AIDS patients in Uganda, a country with an average yearly income of just US $340, according to AFP. UNICEF recently reported that life expectancy in Uganda had been revised downwards from 54 to 43 years because of the AIDS pandemic.