Federal Advisory Group Urges Government to Support AIDS Research with Tax Credits and Protection

Strategic Insights -

A federal advisory group, the National Task Force on AIDS Drug Development, has warned that the pharmaceutical industry is rapidly abandoning research on new AIDS drugs due to limited profits. The task force, composed of patients, drug makers, and government and private scientists, has urged the government to provide tax credits and protection against competition to accelerate the development of new medicines for AIDS. The group's proposals aim to revitalize research and development in the field, which is currently struggling with a "major threat" of a depleted pipeline of new drugs.

Key Takeaways:

  • The pharmaceutical industry is abandoning research on new AIDS drugs due to limited profits, leaving a pipeline of new drugs mostly empty except for protease inhibitors.
  • The treatment action group estimates that larger companies are dropping AIDS research when doing economic calculations of what research to pursue.
  • Dr. Daniel Hoth of Cell Genesys Inc. stated that companies cannot spend millions researching AIDS drugs unless they hold the potential for big profits, and the investment environment is "chilly to hostile".
  • The task force recommends offering a 50 percent tax credit for all clinical research into potential drugs for AIDS and the human immunodeficiency virus.
  • The group also proposes giving seven years of market exclusivity to all H.I.V. and AIDS treatments, and an extra six months of exclusivity for drugs prepared in special infant formulations.
  • The task force has won a pledge from the Food and Drug Administration to issue written guidelines about when it would approve a drug based on just one test in humans.

Statistics:

  • Four new AIDS drugs are currently in development.
  • The pharmaceutical industry is concerned about the "lousy" track record of studying AIDS drugs in children, with most drugs having not been tested for their effects on infants.
  • The National Task Force on AIDS Drug Development spent a year studying how to speed development of new AIDS drugs.
  • The group's proposals aim to incentivize companies to conduct research on new AIDS drugs and develop treatments for the human immunodeficiency virus.

Sources:

  • "Federal Advisory Group Urges Support for AIDS Research" (New York Times)
  • Statement from Peter Staley, Treatment Action Group
  • "AIDS Drug Development: A Major Threat" (National Task Force on AIDS Drug Development report)