Posts
The US Senate subcommittee on
Primary Health and Aging held a hearing Tuesday to discuss cost as a barrier to
HIV treatment for Americans. A new bill would end drugmakers’ exclusive rights
to market new HIV/AIDS drugs, instead granting the companies monetary rewards
from the government.
AIDS patients are dying not because
there is no effective treatment but rather because they cannot afford
antiretroviral drugs, a situation the “average American would be very upset to
know,” said Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), the sponsor of S 1138. The HIV drug
Atripla costs “more than $25,000 per person per year” in the United States,
compared to a generic version going for $200, Sanders said.
Under the bill, those who won
patents for new HIV/AIDS drugs would qualify for a federally funded award. The
money would be a substitute for the profits that would otherwise accrue during
the firm’s monopoly period, Sanders said. Panelists at the hearing estimated
that S 1138 could reduce the price of HIV drugs by at least 90 percent.
“The bottom line is that the goal of
our laws and policies for medicines must be to develop drugs as quickly as
possible ... and to get them out to every person who needs them as soon as
possible,” Sanders said, adding that the bill also would save money for federal
and state health programs.
The Friends of AIDS Foundation is
dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for HIV positive individuals and
empowering people to make healthy choices to prevent the spread of the HIV
virus. To learn more about The Friends of AIDS Foundation, please visit: http://www.friendsofaids.org.
TOGETHER WE REMAIN STRONG!
