A Treatment Activist Proposal for tiered pricing system

[Guest guest]

I had held some dim hope that as activists we could support some form of

tiered pricing system that would allow industry to obtain somewhat higher

prices from wealthy nations while developing countries could move forward

with unfettered access to generically-priced AIDS drugs.

Several issues have arisen that take that negotiating point off the table.

First is the UNAIDS pharmaceutical slush fund. The recent conference in

Ouagadougou made no mention of parallel imports or compulsory licenses. It

would appear that this erstwhile noble concept, aside from being brutally

underfunded, is going to be little more than a shifting of cash from

nations and organizations into the coffers of pharma.

Second is the recent increase in the cost of AIDS drugs as much as 5-10% in

the midst of a recession and serious budget cuts being faced by many state

governments. The effect on ADAP and Medicaid state formularies is NOT

going to be a boon to the health of people with AIDS. In addition, such

squeezing of funds will assure that access to other interventions, such as

dietary supplements like carnitine, acetylcarnitine, protein powders,

coenzyme Q10 and so forth, will be eclipsed. These types of interventions

have data supporting their use in offsetting the hideous and potentially

fatal side effects of ARV use.

Clearly, despite agreements made between industry and the Fair Pricing

Coalition, their word is not to be trusted. This is consistent with past

behavior. Even the first hard-won drop in the price of AZT years ago from

the then Burroughs Wellcome was offset by an increase in the price of

acyclovir. The industry has displayed a consistent pattern of deceit and

shady business practices, resulting in massive increases in prices to which

Americans hitherto have had little recourse (short of costly trips to

Canada or Mexico).

Clearly, they have little regard for the mere voices of AIDS activism. And

little shame in their activities. They have had no compunction about

threatening nations' right to seek compulsory licenses with sanctions--and

sweet talking others with bribes. Yet still, 8,000 people die every single

day, in large measure because of their greed.

As a result, I propose that we begin a grassroots campaign to lobby ADAP

and Medicaid officials to seek parallel imports or compulsory licenses as a

point of leverage and out of economic necessity to obtain the lowest

possible price for ARV medications.

I look forward to lively discussion. Although, having raised this on the

CST list, I fear that many of the upper echelon of activists have been

compromised by the conflicts of interest that are faced by their respective

organization's heavy reliance upon pharm industry funding and thus will

remain either silent or find reason to oppose this campaign.

Comments?

M.

E-mail: <gmc0@...>

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