South Africa: Generic at a fraction of the cost
Médecins Sans Frontières is urging the government to bypass patent law to procure or manufacture much more cheaply a tablet used to treat extremely drug-resistant TB.
Pfizer, which holds the patent to the drug Linezolid, sells it for R588 in South Africa. But it is produced by generics manufacturer Hetero in India at a selling price of only R25.
World Trade Organisation agreements allow countries to bypass patent protection to acquire life-saving drugs.
Linezolid is an antibiotic licensed for the treatment of antibiotic-resistant infections. It is rarely used, said UCT pharmacology professor Gary Maartens, which might explain its high price.
But new research published in the New England Journal of Medicine has shown Linezolid to be effective in curing some cases of extremely drug-resistant TB.
Pharmaceuticals company Pfizer sells Linezolid, called Zyvoxid, for R588 to private organisations and sells it to the government for R287.
But generic manufacturer Hetero, an Indian company makes Linezolid for R25 a pill.
It costs the government R52377 for a six-month course.
Pfizer spokesman Leigh Gunkel-Keuler said: "The price is based on the value it provides to patients and health care providers, and the scientific innovation it represents."
Despite new research that has shown that Linezolid can be used to save TB patients' lives, Pfizer said it did not support the use of Linezolid for treating TB.
Gunkel-Keuler said: "Zyvoxid [Linezolid] is not approved for treatment of tuberculosis in any country."
Nevertheless, it is being increasingly used in this country for treating extremely drug-resistant TB.
She said Pfizer would cooperate with the government in using the medicine in the treatment of certain rare infections, but not drug-resistant TB.
Source:
Times LIVE
