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Pharmaceutical industry

Global Campaign Launched to Challenge Abbott's Monopolistic Control Over AIDS Treatment

Strategic Insights

— 2 min read

On World AIDS Day, President Obama acknowledged the critical role of treatment in preventing the spread of HIV/AIDS, citing new science that suggests antiretroviral treatment can reduce the risk of transmission by 96%. However, patent monopolies and high treatment costs for newer medicines threaten to undermine the progress made in developing countries, where generic competition has driven down prices for AIDS drugs from over $10,000 per year to less than $100.

Key Takeaways:

  • President Obama's speech on World AIDS Day highlighted the importance of treatment in preventing the spread of HIV/AIDS, citing new science that suggests ARV treatment can reduce the risk of transmission by 96%.
  • Generic competition has driven down prices for AIDS drugs from over $10,000 per year to less than $100, but patent monopolies and high treatment costs for newer medicines threaten to undermine the progress made in developing countries.
  • Abbott Laboratories' anti-competitive actions are keeping prices for the critical HIV/AIDS treatment lopinavir + ritonavir high, pricing Kaletra at $400 in the world's poorest countries and up to $4,000 in other developing nations.
  • A U.S. President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief country report for Vietnam noted that hopes for significantly lower second-line treatment costs have not been realized, citing the high cost of Abbott Lopinavir/Ritonavir products.
  • Compulsory licensing can authorize generic competition for products that remain on patent in exchange for a royalty payment, and is a legal tool permissible under international trade and national law.
  • More than 250 Vietnamese groups joined a letter to Abbott seeking licenses to permit generic competition, and health groups in Vietnam, Indonesia, and the United States are filing license requests with their governments.

Statistics:

  • Over $10,000 per year: the price of AIDS drugs in developing countries before generic competition revolutionized treatment.
  • Under $100 per year: the price of AIDS drugs in developing countries after generic competition drove down prices.
  • 96%: the reduction in the risk of transmission of HIV/AIDS through the use of antiretroviral treatment, according to new science cited by President Obama.
  • $400 per year: the price of Kaletra, a critical HIV/AIDS treatment, in the world's poorest countries.
  • $4,000 per year: the price of Kaletra in other developing nations, thanks to Abbott's anti-competitive pricing strategy.

Sources:

  • Public Citizen
  • President Barack Obama's speech at George Washington University on World AIDS Day
  • U.S. President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) country report for Vietnam
  • Various reports and news articles on the global campaign to challenge Abbott's monopolistic control over AIDS treatment.

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