Brazil will Import Cheaper Versions of a Patented HIV/AIDS Drug
The government of Brazil has issued a license that will allow the importation of cheaper versions of a patented HIV/AIDS drug after negotiations failed to bring about agreement on price reductions with Merck, the US company holding the patent.
This is the first compulsory license issued in Brazil after several threats to do so since 2001 resulted in lower prices for other drugs, sources said.
The product in question is the HIV/AIDS drug, efavirenz (Stocrin), marketed by Merck, and currently used by 38 percent of AIDS patients in Brazil as part of their treatment, the Brazilian Health Ministry said in a statement.
The Brazilian Health Ministry said the license “enables the ministry of health to import generic versions of efavirenz from laboratories that are pre-qualified by the World Health Organization,” adding that three Indian generic companies meet this requirement at the moment.
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