Quality HIV/AIDS treatment eased through extended agreement about lowest-priced drugs and diagnostics

During the International AIDS Conference in Bangkok, IDA ARV Procurement Services BV and Clinton Foundation announced the agreement that enables developing countries to purchase high-quality AIDS medicines and diagnostics at the lowest available prices.

This agreement will pave the way for countries, procuring from IDA ARV BV to gain access to drug and diagnostic prices negotiated by the Clinton Foundation. As provided for under the Clinton Foundation agreements with its suppliers, customers of IDA ARV BV who are interested in accessing these agreements should contact the Clinton Foundation to initiate the process. Countries will be required to provide guarantees of payment, to conduct long-term tenders and to ensure the security of drug distribution.

Currently, IDA ARV BV is supplying several countries with antiretroviral medication under the Global Fund to Fight Aids, Tuberculosis and Malaria (GFATM) initiative. IDA ARV BV has already been engaged in a number of projects in Ukraine, Peru, Ghana, Haiti, Honduras, Burundi, Moldova, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Zimbabwe, Ethiopia, Kenya and Georgia and has expertise not only in procurement, but also in the areas of pharmacy, product specification, transport and distribution plus legal / patent issues. It makes use of the extensive Quality Assurance and Quality Control system of its mother organisation IDA Foundation, which covers the entire supply chain from the manufacturers to the customer.

The prices have been negotiated by the Clinton Foundation with five manufacturers of ARVs (antiretrovirals) and five manufacturers of HIV/AIDS diagnostic tests. These prices were announced originally in October 2003 and January 2004, and to date they are available to 25 countries in the Caribbean and Africa, where the Clinton Foundation’s HIV/AIDS Initiative is active. The drugs in these agreements include individual formulations and two- and three-drug fixed dose combinations which have been pre-qualified by the World Health Organization to assure quality and efficacy.

The most common first line formulation, for example, will cost $140/person/year, one-third to one-half of the lowest price otherwise available in most settings. The prices available for the tests under the agreement include machines, training, reagents and maintenance and are up to 80% cheaper than otherwise available in the market.

These medicines are critical components of the four regimens, recommended by the World Health Organization as “first line” treatment for AIDS in its 3x5 initiative. In developing countries outside of Brazil, such life-sustaining therapy is available to fewer than 200,000 people living with the virus, though almost six million require it. Recent commitments of financial support for treatment, along with these lower prices for drugs and tests, can expand this coverage significantly.

Clinton Foundation Contact Details
Clinton HIV/AIDS Initiative
225 Water Street
Quincy, MA 02138
Phone: 617-774-0110
Fax: 617-774-0220
E-mail: [email protected]