Kenyan moves to buy cheap AIDS drugs

A US priest who works with HIV-positive orphans in Kenya has said thathe intends to import the cut-price HIV/AIDS treatments being offered by Indian generics manufacturer Cipla (see story alongside).

This would currently be illegal in Kenya, but the country's Minister for Public Health, Sam Ongeri, said he did not expect the government to try to stop Rev Angelo D'Agostino from purchasing Cipla's generic versions of Boehringer Ingelheim's Viramune (nevirapine), Bristol- Myers' Squibb's Zerit (stavudine) and GlaxoSmithkline's Epivir/3TC (lamivudine).

Dr Ongeri also said that Kenya' parliament is expected to pass a new law in March allowing international aid agencies to import generics. This would be in compliance with international trade agreements but he expected drug companies to "cause problems," reports the UK Financial Times. "I am preparing them in advance, so they will accept it when it happens," he said.