Africa Action (Washington, DC)
6 April 2004
press release
Washington, DC — Yesterday, the Clinton Foundation, the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB, and malaria, and UNICEF announced plans to drastically reduce the costs of HIV/AIDS drugs, a step which could make treatment more widely accessible to people living with HIV/AIDS in the developing world. The announcement comes on the heels of the Bush administration’s failed attempt to discredit generic HIV/AIDS drugs at a meeting in Botswana last week. The meeting was convened by the White House, at the behest of their patrons in the U.S. pharmaceutical industry, to call into question the safety and efficacy of generic fixed-dose combinations (FDCs) of anti-retroviral drugs.
"Last week’s conference in Botswana demonstrated that there are no limits to the Bush administration’s crusade to protect the profits of the U.S. pharmaceutical industry," said Salih Booker, Executive Director of Africa Action. "Yesterday’s announcement by the Clinton Foundation reflects the strong international consensus on the critical role these drugs play in saving millions of African lives. The Bush administration needs to meet its responsibilities and get in step with the rest of the international community."
Despite the White House’s patent protection agenda, conference participants reasserted the importance, safety, and efficacy of generic FDCs. These drugs are widely acknowledged as essential to expanding treatment in Africa and other developing regions. At the two-day meeting, public health experts and service providers, many of whom receive funding from the U.S. government for HIV/AIDS programs, stood together in support for the use of generic FDCs under the existing WHO approval process. Others, such as the European Agency for the Evaluation of Medicinal Products (EMEA), the largest drug regulatory authority in the European Union, demonstrated their support of these essential medicines by refusing to attend the Botswana conference altogether.
"The Bush Administration should return to the international community and immediately express unequivocal commitment to using Fixed-Dose Combinations and generic drugs," said Njogu Morgan, International Coordinator for TAC and spokesperson for PATAM, the Pan-African Treatment Access Movement. "Simple and affordable drug regimens will enable African countries to rapidly scale up treatment of HIV/AIDS and save thousands more lives."
The threat to the legitimacy of generic FDCs generated outrage and protest among public health experts, medical professionals, lawmakers, and people living with HIV/AIDS last week.
* 381 international organizations signed on to a letter to Randall Tobias, the new US Global AIDS Coordinator, urging him to accept the standards of the WHO's prequalification program and to support the procurement of generic medicines by grantees of the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR).
* Eight AIDS activists were arrested in Washington, DC on Monday, the first day of the conference, for blocking traffic in front of the offices of PhRMA, the U.S. drug company lobby. They were protesting the White House’s attempt to use the Botswana meeting to discredit generic FDCs.
* U.S. Republican and Democratic lawmakers also sent letters to the Administration calling on the President to permit U.S. funds to be used to buy WHO pre-qualified medicines, including generic FDCs.
Despite the victory achieved, advocates recognize that this is only a first step in the larger struggle to secure generic FDCs through the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) and other funding programs.
"Although the Bush administration is clearly on the defensive, the struggle to place African lives before U.S. drug company profits is by no means over," said Booker. "People Living with HIV/AIDS, health professionals and activists the world over need to keep the pressure on to ensure that PEPFAR treats as many people as possible by buying the most affordable and easy-to-use drug regimens possible."
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