AHF:"Pharma must cut drug prices for Brazil"

The AIDS Healthcare Foundation, the USA's largest donor of HIV/AIDS health care, education and prevention outside Europe, has accused drugmakers of "impeding progress in countries like Brazil, by crippling what is arguably the most successful government intervention" against the disease. The group calls for compulsory licenses to be used.

According to the AHF, Brazil is a model for its commitment to the provision of HIV/AIDS drugs to all sections of society. Brazil's government has managed to control some costs with drugmakers by threatening to break patents and encouraging licensing agreements between drugmakers and local generic suppliers (Marketletter November 20, 2006).

Second-line drug costs "up to $17,000"