Report on the Global HIV/AIDS epidemic

Care and support for people living with HIV/AIDS

Table 2. Price (US$) of a defined dally dose of selected
antiretrovlrals in five countries
Drug Defined daily USA (1) C6td'Ivoire Uganda () Brazil Thailand (6)
dose
zidovudine 600 mg 10.12 2.43 4.34 1.08 (4) 1.74
100 mg
didanosine 400 mg 7.25 3.48 5.26 2.04 (4) 2.73 )
100 mg
stavudine 80 mg 9.07 4.10 6.19 0.56 (4) 0.84
40 mg
indinavir 2400 mg 14.93 9.07 12.79 10.32 (s) NA
400 mg
saquinavir 1200 mg 6.50 4.82 7.37 6.24 (5) NA
200 mg
efavirenz 600 mg 13.13 6.41 NA 6.96 (s) NA
200 mg
(1) Prices, 2 April 2000, from www.globalrx.com, a US mail-order pharmacy that offers proprietary antiretrovirals
with a minimum mark-up (shipping not included).
(2) End-user prices, UNAIDS Drug Access Initiative, C6te d'lvoire, March 2000.
(3) End-user prices, UNAIDS Drug Access Initiative, Uganda, March 2000.
(4) Generic drugs produced in Brazil (US$1 = R$ 1.8).
(5) January 2000 cost to the Brazilian Government of imported drugs (US$ 1= R$ 1.8).
(6) Generic drugs produced by Government Pharmaceutical Organization, Thailand (US$ 1 = 38 baht).
(7) 115 mg powder formulation, equivalent to 100 mg tablet.;:, f,,,

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Box 18. Experience in Brazil with generic alternatives to
proprietary antiretrovirals
The Government of Brazil has a policy of universal access to antiretroviral drugs that
currently benefits nearly all AIDS patients in the country (about 85 000). The introduction of combination antiretroviral therapy nearly halved the annual number of
AIDS deaths between 1996 and 1999 and reduced the incidence of opportunistic
infections by 60-80% over the same period.
The universal access programme would not have been possible without significant
decreases in the cost of antiretroviral drugs. The Government decided to start local
manufacture of drugs that were not patent-protected, and for which it had the know
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