B-MS to support to struggling US state AIDS drug assistance programmes
Bristol-Myers Squibb (B-MS) is to provide an estimated US$35m (Euro 30.7m) in interim emergency relief to help address the funding crisis facing the US state-administered AIDS Drug Assistance Programmes (ADAPs).
Bristol-Myers Squibb (B-MS) is to provide an estimated US$35m (Euro 30.7m) in interim emergency relief to help address the funding crisis facing the US state-administered AIDS Drug Assistance Programmes (ADAPs).
Over the next 20 months the company will supply its complete line of HIV medications at a reduced cost.
ADAPs are not entitlement programmes and, as a result, reduced state and federal appropriations coupled with growing programme demands, have led to restrictions and waiting lists for medicines under the programmes. Approximately 20-25% of all HIV medi-cations are currently purchased through state ADAPs.
Under the new agreement, Bristol-Myers Squibb will provide states with the opportunity to access its once-daily therapies including Reyataz (atazanavir sulfate), the first once-daily protease inhibitor used in combination therapy, and Sustiva (efavirenz), a non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor.
Internationally, B-MS also is involved in several initiatives including Secure the Future, a five-year, $115m (Euro 101m) commitment to help develop local, sustainable programmes to address the devastating impact of HIV/AIDS among women and children in sub-Saharan and West African nations.