Welcome news has arrived for thousands of Romanian children with deadly AIDS-related diseases, their parents and for volunteer Irish health officials caring for them. Leading international drug companies have announced they will reduce drastically the cost of life-saving medicines.
Faced with rising competition from cheaper generic drugs worldwide and loss of moral high ground, the multinational pharmaceutical companies in Romania have agreed to offer discounts for AIDS medicines that could amount to millions of pounds a year, health officials said yesterday.
Romania is believed to have the highest pediatric AIDS population in Europe, due mainly to tainted blood supplies, and a single monthly cocktail of three drugs costs around £1,000.
There are approximately 9,000 HIV/AIDS patients in Romania, but only one-third receive proper treatment because of insufficient funding. Health officials say companies which produce cheaper AIDS drugs have applied for patents in Romania, including Cipla Ltd from Bombay. Its offer to sell AIDS drugs for less than £200 in South Africa last month led to widespread ethical debates.
The companies' decision follows recent developments in South Africa where they were forced to withdraw a lawsuit preventing the government from importing or manufacturing generic copies of AIDS drugs. They agreed finally to reduce drug prices. Drug companies fear countries could take away their patent rights.
Scores of Irish nurses and doctors still work in Romanian institutions caring for HIV-infected children. "This is simply great news," said one volunteer, Ms Phyllis McKenna. "It has given hope where there simply was none. We couldn't get the drugs. This has been a tremendous lobbying effort."
Mr Adrian Streinu-Cercel, president of the Romanian Commission to Fight AIDS, said: "Learning of the success of the UN AIDS Committee's lobby, we decided to do the same. We requested the reduction, saying that last year Romanians purchased £14 million of AIDS drugs."
Companies to cut prices include Merck Sharp and Dohme. Some drugs will now be available at around one-tenth of the price in Ireland.
Ms Mary Veal, an aid worker, said: "Children were simply dying from lack of money to buy the drugs. It was a national tragedy."