Row over Roche ARV in South Korea

Switzerland-based drug major Roche has found itself the only pharmaceutical firm to be branded one of the world's "10 worst  corporations of 2008," according to a US activist group, Essential  Action. The extraordinary nomination, which puts the research-based  manufacturer of medicines on a par with a tobacco company and the  operator of a nuclear power station, was apparently based on a dispute  over the cost in South Korea of Roche's third-line antiretroviral  therapy Fuzeon (enfuvirtid).

Martina Rupp, a spokeswoman for the Basel-headquartered firm, told the  Marketletter: "Roche has been in discussions with the Ministry for  Health in South Korea to address pricing and provide access to Fuzeon  for patients through the national health insurance program for several  years." She added that "the latest price offered to the government, in  December 2007, was in line with the lowest price for Fuzeon that is  available to other developed countries in the region, such as Taiwan. On  October 7, 2008, we reiterated our offer to the government in response  to requests from patient groups to make Fuzeon available." The decision  to terminate discussions was made by the Korean Ministry of Health, Ms  Rupp stressed, "effectively ending the dialog on securing reimbursement  for Fuzeon."

Limited access to the ARV remains in the country, because an orphan drug  center there is able to deliver the product to patients on an individual  basis. However, the nature of the third-line treatment means that demand  is small. Ms Rupp noted that, "so far, Roche Korea has not been  contacted by either a patient or a physician about Fuzeon," suggesting  that, unlike the impression given by Essential Action, there are not  multitudes of patients being denied access.