Ivory Coast clinches Aids drugs deal

Drug firms say they will slash prices for the developing world

Ivory Coast's Government says it has obtained massive price cuts from international pharmaceutical firms for Aids therapy drugs.

Ivory Coast is the first country to benefit from a decision taken by some of the major pharmaceutical companies to slash the price of these drugs in Africa, ministers believe.

The Ivorian minister responsible for Aids, Dr Assana Sangare, said the monthly cost of treating a patient would now be about $100, a reduction of over 80%.

South Africa is fighting to import cheaper generic drugs

The announcement follows the start of a fierce legal battle between the pharmaceutical industry and the South African government, which is pressing for the right to import generic drugs that are cheaper than the branded ones.

Kenya has already said it will go ahead and import cheaper generic drugs from countries such as India.

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Dr Sangare said Merck, GlaxoSmithKline and Bristol Myers Squibb had agreed to cut their prices, and negotiations were under way with other companies.

She said that thanks to the price cuts, a large number of Ivorians would have access to Aids treatment who would otherwise not have been able to afford it.

Ivory Coast has one of the most serious Aids and HIV problems in Africa, with an estimated 10% of the population diagnosed as HIV positive.

The cost of treating those infected at the old prices would have been far greater than the country's entire national health budget, said Dr Sangare.

Some of the major pharmaceutical companies had already announced earlier this year they would slash the prices of anti-retroviral drugs for the developing world.

But critics say that although it is an important move, it does not address the central problem, which is the systematic use of patent rules to keep low-cost drugs out of poor countries.