[00:04.88]Five of the world's largest drug companies
[00:03.88]have agreed to reduce the price of drugs designed to control the disease AIDS for people in developing countries.
[00:12.37]The agreement was reached after talks between United Nations health officials and drug companies earlier this month.
[00:21.83]Experts say the agreement is an important step in efforts to help millions of people in poor countries get costly antiAIDS drugs.
[00:34.03]UN officials have been urging the drug industry to cut drug prices for poor countries.
[00:41.76]But they say there was limited action from them until now.
[00:47.30]The drug companies are Merck, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Gtaxo Wellcome, Boehringer- Ingelheim and Hoffman-La Roche.
[00:57.41]They will work with five international agencies.
[01:02.22]Several of the companies are promising to sell their drugs for only a little more than the cost of manufacturing them.
[01:11.62]Some reports suggest the drug prices may decrease by as much as 80% below the prices of the drugs in the United States.
[01:22.72]The drugs AZT and 3TC are two of the powerful drugs found to help slow the progress of AIDS.
[01:33.41]The treatment often requires the use of another drug called a protease inhibitor.
[01:41.09]These drugs have been used in the United States and Europe for several years.
[01:48.35]The agreement may make it possible for tens of thousands of people to get the drugs in Africa,
[01:56.16]where the disease is spreading fastest.
[01:59.27]More than 20,000,000 people in southern African nations are believed to be infected with HIV,
[02:08.15]the virus that causes AIDS.
[02:10.87]About 80% of the people in the world with the AIDS virus are in southern Africa.
[02:18.94]Even with the new prices, however, anti-AIDS drugs wilI still cost too much for most Africans.
[02:28.26]The combination of three or more drugs may cost up to 200 dollars a month.
[02:35.79]In addition, experts say the plan must be combined with efforts to teach people how to use the drugs.
[02:45.22]And there must be trained medical people to supervise the complex drug treatment.
[02:52.84]The disease could worsen or develop into drug-resistant viruses if the drugs are not taken correctly.
[03:01.86]UN health officials called for stronger efforts for AIDS prevention and helth care by governments in affected countries. |