Merck & Co cuts AIDS drug prices in Brazil
Merck & Co is to cut the prices of its HIV/AIDS drugs in Brazil,reducing the cost of Crixivan (indinavir) by 65% and Stocrin (efavirenz)'s by 59%, a move which Brazilian health officials say will save the country 83 million reals ($38.8 million) in a year.
The price cut "is the result of negotiations between the Brazilian government and Merck," and "represents a major victory for the Brazilian government," Reuters reports Health Minister Jose Serra as saying. Brazil had threatened to break the patents on the two drugs by June and commence production of local versions unless the prices of the imported drugs were reduced (Marketletter February 12).
Earlier this month, Merck had sent an "informal" warning to the Brazilian state-owned drugmaker Far-Manguinhos, advising that it had violated Stocrin's patent, and also said that it was planning to offer Brazil "an extremely aggressive discount" on the drug within the very near future (Marketletter April 2).
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