Drug company raises US price of AIDS drug five-fold
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《英国医生杂志》
A decision made earlier this year by Abbott Laboratories to raise the U S price of its protease-inhibiting drug Norvir from about $1,500 (?43;�1,240) to $7,800 (?,380;�6450) annually, which provoked an outcry among AIDS sufferers and organisations, has come under the spotlight in a Federal public hearing.
The price of Norvir in other countries is much lower, because of government pricing restrictions. In Belgium, for example, is costs less than $720 (?40; �645) annually. Norvir is an adjunct of 揹rug cocktails?taken by many AIDS patients, to enhance the effectiveness of nearly all other protease inhibitors they may be taking.
Abbott justifies its price hike by explaining that patients are using smaller doses of Norvir than originally expected. The price increase was intended to recoup these losses. Because prices are regulated abroad but not in the U S, American consumers often end up in effect subsidizing overseas patients.
Dr John Leonard, Abbott抯 Vice President in charge of drug development said, 揟o continue the work in H.I.V. and other therapeutic areas, we decided that the appropriate thing to do to resource our program was to make up our losses with the price increase.?/p>
揟he cost of AIDS medicines today is what funds the research for better treatments and cures for tomorrow,?said Alan Holmer, president of the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, the drug industry抯 trade association. 擨t抯 true that other developed countries are free-riding on American research and we need to address that, particularly in trade agreements,?he added.
The Health and Human Services Importation Task Force of the Department of Human Services held a public hearing on 14 April to review the whole question of prescription drug importation. The hearing included 32 scheduled presentations plus unscheduled public comments, but at the time of going to press, no final summary was available.
The five-fold increase in the price of Norvir in the U S gave the hearing added significance. Norvil was developed with the aid of a National Institute of Health grant in 1996 following an eight-year research effort at Abbott.
揟he taxpayers already paid for this invention, so if anything it should be cheaper in the United States,?said James Love, director of the Consumer Project on Technology, a group that pushes for lower drug prices, and was one of the 33 scheduled speakers at the hearing.
Mr Love has petitioned the National Institutes of Health to take advantage of the fine print included in the NIH grant to Abbott, which allowed the federal government to insist upon 搑easonable prices?for discoveries made with federal money. But these provisions have rarely been invoked, for fear of antagonizing the drug companies, and leading to loss of their cooperation with federal health authorities.
Increasing support in Congress for legalising prescription drug imports, has led Senator Charles Grassley, an Iowa Republican, to introduce legislation that would gradually legalise such imports from Canada, Australia and Europe. Senator John Kerry, Democrat of Massachusetts, and his party抯 presumptive presidential nominee, supports prescription drug import legislation, which is expected to be a campaign issue in the November presidential election.(Florida, Fred Charatan)
The price of Norvir in other countries is much lower, because of government pricing restrictions. In Belgium, for example, is costs less than $720 (?40; �645) annually. Norvir is an adjunct of 揹rug cocktails?taken by many AIDS patients, to enhance the effectiveness of nearly all other protease inhibitors they may be taking.
Abbott justifies its price hike by explaining that patients are using smaller doses of Norvir than originally expected. The price increase was intended to recoup these losses. Because prices are regulated abroad but not in the U S, American consumers often end up in effect subsidizing overseas patients.
Dr John Leonard, Abbott抯 Vice President in charge of drug development said, 揟o continue the work in H.I.V. and other therapeutic areas, we decided that the appropriate thing to do to resource our program was to make up our losses with the price increase.?/p>
揟he cost of AIDS medicines today is what funds the research for better treatments and cures for tomorrow,?said Alan Holmer, president of the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, the drug industry抯 trade association. 擨t抯 true that other developed countries are free-riding on American research and we need to address that, particularly in trade agreements,?he added.
The Health and Human Services Importation Task Force of the Department of Human Services held a public hearing on 14 April to review the whole question of prescription drug importation. The hearing included 32 scheduled presentations plus unscheduled public comments, but at the time of going to press, no final summary was available.
The five-fold increase in the price of Norvir in the U S gave the hearing added significance. Norvil was developed with the aid of a National Institute of Health grant in 1996 following an eight-year research effort at Abbott.
揟he taxpayers already paid for this invention, so if anything it should be cheaper in the United States,?said James Love, director of the Consumer Project on Technology, a group that pushes for lower drug prices, and was one of the 33 scheduled speakers at the hearing.
Mr Love has petitioned the National Institutes of Health to take advantage of the fine print included in the NIH grant to Abbott, which allowed the federal government to insist upon 搑easonable prices?for discoveries made with federal money. But these provisions have rarely been invoked, for fear of antagonizing the drug companies, and leading to loss of their cooperation with federal health authorities.
Increasing support in Congress for legalising prescription drug imports, has led Senator Charles Grassley, an Iowa Republican, to introduce legislation that would gradually legalise such imports from Canada, Australia and Europe. Senator John Kerry, Democrat of Massachusetts, and his party抯 presumptive presidential nominee, supports prescription drug import legislation, which is expected to be a campaign issue in the November presidential election.(Florida, Fred Charatan)