Arguably, these pharmaceuticals are making a killing on HIV and other life saving drugs for other life threatening illnesses.
It has become sufficiently clear that some of these drugs are way overpriced. The drug manufacturer claims that it is investing in research, testing and such so that they are in a spot where they must charge those prices in order for the drug to be profitable for them…really?
I clearly could see if there was a 50% mark up after they are through deducting the cost of research, testing, manufacturing and the ingredients…and still have enough left over to make a very handsome profit. But it is ludicrous to think that a 500% or even higher percentage mark-up is justified.
Then there is the question of whether these drug manufacturers are reputable and on the level…what prevents them from putting a bunch of ingredients in one pill and leaving out a key element and then making a companion drug that contains only that ingredient missing from the first drug?…in reality what it amounts to is selling a near placebo…you see how they tell you that a certain drug must be taken together with this other one…they don’t recommend it, they require it.
The cost of these drugs is exorbitant…one would think that they actually put ground up gold in them, but in reality some of the ingredients are quite common and inexpensive.
The government of Brazil has embarked upon a project where they are now manufacturing generic drugs that are the most used and the most expensive when they are brand names. As a consequence, because of the competition even those name brand drugs are considerably lower in price than in America; and of course the generic is quite affordable. Call it SOCIALISM, I don’t care but I also think that it is unethical to make a profit out of people’s misery and it is IMMORAL to make an obscene profit out of it.
But when all is said and done; I really don't have that big a beef with the drug manufacturers because at least they produce something...a medicine that is going to keep people alive...they sell a product...albeit at an exorbitant price and that is my main resentment towards them. Unlike the health insurance companies that don't produce anything, don't offer a useful service, they don't even take the risks that would be the reason for their existence...they are true parasites.
But the issue remains that if you can’t afford them and have no access to some charitable organization that will provide it, HIV people will simply die…CAN YOU SAY “DEATH PANELS?”
THIS IS A LIST OF THOSE DRUGS AND THEIR EXHORBITANT COST:
| COST PER MONTH (estimates) - Medication Fact Sheets | |
| Agenerase | $772 |
| Aptivus | $1117.50 |
| Combivir - Buy Here For Less | $752.64 |
| Crixivan | $570.96 |
| Emtriva | $347.11 |
| Epivir 300mg | $347.11 |
| Epzicom | $813.55 |
| Fortovase | $263.35 |
| Fuzeon | $2315.40 |
| Hivid | $273.00 |
| Invirase | $748.50 |
| Kaletra | $796.26 |
| Lexiva | $658.99 |
| Norvir | $321.46 |
| Rescriptor | $316.35 |
| Retrovir | $405.59 |
| Reyataz | $892.91 |
| Sustiva 600mg | $499.43 |
| Trizivir | $1164.35 |
| Truvada | $867.99 |
| Videx EC 400mg | $346.04 |
| Viramune | $442.45 |
| Zerit | $385.88 |
| Ziagen | $466.44 |
Source: Test Positive Aware Network; "Annual HIV Drug Guide"; 2006.
There have been protests nationwide in front of the corporate headquarters of these pharmaceuticals…the protests go unnoticed, no publicity and thus they are not ashamed into lowering the costs.
Merck’s Isentress: Salvage Therapy versus First-Line Use
Initially approved in October 2007 by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as a salvage therapy, the FDA subsequently expanded its approval of Merck’s Isentress for use as a first-line course of treatment in HIV/AIDS, a move which both greatly expanded the U.S. market for the drug and makes Merck’s antiretroviral (ARV) Isentress the most expensive first-line treatment on the market. When it first came to market, Merck set the Average Wholesale Price (AWP) of Isentress at $12,150 per patient yearly. Merck has since raised the AWP of Isentress to $12,895 — a more than 5% price hike — since its introduction to market.
At minimum, Isentress must be taken with at least two other HIV/AIDS drugs as part of an effective antiretroviral treatment regimen, pushing the overall price of one Isentress patient’s yearly AIDS drugs to between $20,000 and $30,000. Public programs (federal and state) are the largest purchaser of ARV medications in the country, with Medicare and Medicaid the single largest payer for HIV/AIDS care in the U.S.
The Department of Health and Human Services treatment guidelines include several preferred treatment options for first-line patients. These options provide the same clinical benefit as Isentress but cost less. For example, Isentress — which must be taken with two additional AIDS drugs — costs nearly as much as an entire three-drug regimen of Viread, Emtriva and Sustiva, commonly combined in Gilead Sciences’ three-in-one tablet, Atripla.
AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF), the largest global AIDS organization, currently provides medical care and services to more than 169,000 individuals in 27 countries worldwide in the U.S., Africa, Latin America/Caribbean the Asia/Pacific region and Eastern Europe. www.aidshealth.org
BUY DRUGS FROM CANADA: Help is available -- from a northern neighbor like CanadaWayDrugs.com (http://www.canadawaydrugs.com/) in Vancouver, British Columbia where drug savings average 48% vs. a popular U.S. chain.
More info:
AIDS Healthcare Foundation
Ged Kenslea, 323-308-1833
Mobile: 323-791-5526
gedk@aidshealth.org
Lori Yeghiayan, 323-308-1834
Mobile: 323-377-4312
lori.yeghiayan@aidshealth.org
Header photo: work of Canadian artist James Huctwith
Protest photo: http://ahfspeakout.tumblr.com/post/8137291892/jessica-reinhart-grassroots-community-manager
