Pfizer to give AIDS drug to 50 countries

The US pharmaceutical giant Pfizer announced today it would provide 50 of the world's poorest countries with unlimited supplies…

The US pharmaceutical giant Pfizer announced today it would provide 50 of the world's poorest countries with unlimited supplies of the drug Diflucan to treat AIDS patients free of charge.

"There will be no time or dollar limit set to this programme," Pfizer's chairman and chief executive officer, Mr Henry McKinnell, told a news conference here.

Mr McKinnell said after discussing the initiative with the White House and US Health and Human Services Secretary Mr Tommy Thompson, they offered him their full support.

The 50 least-developed countries to benefit from the offer are home to about 12 million AIDS sufferers, one third of the world's total.

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AFP