ABBOTT CUTS HIV DRUG PRICE IN THAILAND - Responds to threat from country, pressure from UN

ABBOTT CUTS HIV DRUG PRICE IN THAILAND - Responds to threat from country, pressure from UN
Copyright byh The CHICAGO SUN-TIMES, Bloomberg News, and The AP
April 11, 2007

Abbott Laboratories cut the price of its HIV drug to poor countries by more than half, responding to pressure from the United Nations and Thailand's threat that it might make a generic version.
Abbott will sell Kaletra for $1,000 a patient for a year's supply, 55 percent less than the average cost paid now by those countries, Abbott said.

The agreement might help alleviate a dispute that began in January when Thailand said it might copy several patent-protected HIV and cancer medicines to reduce prices, and increase the number of people with access to the drugs. The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers' Association, a company trade group, responded then that its members wouldn't introduce new medicines in Thailand as a result.

The new agreement "takes HIV pricing out of the debate, and now we hope we can have a thoughtful debate about a system society needs in order to bring forth new medicine while increasing affordability," said Abbott spokeswoman Melissa Brotz. "Obviously because Thailand is a low-middle-tier country, they're eligible for this price.

"The withdrawal of registration for new medicines (in Thailand) has not changed," she said.

The poorest countries already receive HIV treatment at lower prices, Brotz said. The new pricing takes effect for companies that are low to low-middle income, as defined by World Bank criteria.

The new price of Kaletra "is lower than any generic price available in the world today for this medicine,"
Abbott said. Kaletra will be available in Thailand and at least 39 other countries at the new price, the company said.

In a related development, Abbott officially opened a new $450 million factory in Puerto Rico Tuesday, as part of an effort to increase production for its top-selling anti-inflammatory drug Humira. The lab is Abbott's largest capital investment, officials said.