Abbott Agrees to Offer AIDS Drug at Reduced Price

    By Donald Zuhn --

On Tuesday, Abbott announced that it had reached an agreement with World Health Organization (WHO) Director General Margaret Chan to reduce the price of its Kaletra/Aluvia (lopinavir/ritonavir) AIDS drugs in the developing world.  In particular, Abbott will be offering the drugs to about forty low and low-middle income countries (as defined using World Bank criteria) at a price of $1,000 per patient per year - or about 55% less than the average current price at which Abbott sells the drugs in these countries (and less than the price of any generic version of the drugs).

According to Abbott's statement, the price reduction will serve to "further increase access and address the debate around pricing of HIV medicines . . . while preserving the system that enables the discovery of new medicines."  Abbott added that "[t]he patents of scientists and inventors must exist so that there are incentives for sustained research and development," without which "the miracle drugs the world enjoys today, including HIV medicines, would not exist."

Abbott's decision to reduce the price of its AIDS drugs in the developing world constitutes a reversal of its earlier decision to withdraw its products from Thailand in response to that country's issuance of compulsory licenses for Kaletra (see "No New Abbott Medicines for Thailand"), which in turn resulted from Abbott's failure to reach an agreement with the Thailand government on a reduced price for Kaletra.  With respect to its dispute with Thailand, Abbott stated that it "appreciates and fully respects the suggestion of Director General Chan that more work needs to be done with the government of Thailand to achieve a positive outcome, " but noted that "Kaletra capsules remain available in Thailand and will be eligible for the new price."

A Reuters report indicates that despite Abbott's announcement, the company's dispute with Thailand continues, and as a result, Abbott will not be offering Aluvia (a newer form of Kaletra) in Thailand.  According to the Reuters report, AIDS activists have widely criticized this decision since Aluvia is a heat-stable form of Kaletra that eliminates the need for costly cold storage in resource-poor countries.

For additional information concerning the issue of compulsory licensing in Thailand, please see:

• "No New Abbott Medicines for Thailand," March 14, 2007
• "More Compulsory Licensing in Thailand," February 1, 2007
• "Thailand Compulsory License Still in the News," December 18, 2006
• "Thailand Issues Compulsory License for AIDS Drug," December 6, 2006