Coalition urges Roche to lower price of AIDS drug

A coalition of AIDS groups from around the world has launched a campaign urging Roche to lower the price of its new anti-HIV drug, Fuzeon, to a level that will make it accessible to all HIV/AIDS patients.

In a letter to Roche chairman and ceo Franz B. Humer, the US advocates wrote that 'Fuzeon's $20,000 price tag is out of the price range for most AIDS patients,' and 'threatens to bankrupt already financially stressed AIDS drug assistance programmes'.

'Fuzeon must not be priced significantly above ex-isting HIV/AIDS medications,' said Michael Weinstein, president of the AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF). 'We don't want to face another situation in which pa-tients who have failed to respond to other medications may have to fight again to access new antiretrovirals as it was in the past for protease inhibitors,' stressed Mauro Guarinieri, vice chairman of The European AIDS Treatment Group, and member of The Italian Community Advisory Board, the coalition which has launched the campaign in Italy.

AHF officials were unimpressed by reports that Roche had made agreements to lower Fuzeon prices for US AIDS Drug Assistance Programs. 'AHF believes the price reduction to ADAPs are a public relations stunt,' said Clint Trout, AHF Associate Director of Government Affairs. 'Because the lower price is only in effect for one year, when there will not be large supply of the drug available, this is not really a large concession from the company.'

AIDS Healthcare Foundation

AIDS Healthcare Foundation is the largest AIDS organisation in the US. It serves thousands of patients in California, New York and Florida regardless of their insurance status or ability to pay. In addition, AHF currently operates two free AIDS treatment clinics in Africa: the Ithembalabantu Clinic in KwaZulu Natal, Durban, South Africa & the Uganda Cares Healthcare Center in Masaka, Uganda.