The impact of generic antiviral drugs.

The HIV/AIDS epidemic has spread worldwide, with approximately 40 million people who were infected by the end of 2006. Antiretroviral therapy (ART) has proven to be lifesaving, and can convert AIDS into a chronic but manageable disease. Until a few years ago, the annual cost of treating one patient with HIV/AIDS was between US $10,000 and $12,000--beyond the affordability of most individuals. In 2001, the offer of a triple generic therapy at a cost of less than US $1 per day from the Indian company Cipla stunned the world. Although there were some initial challenges, this approach to HIV/AIDS treatment galvanized a reaction that had never occurred previously. Governments, the WHO, NGOs and other bodies quickly attempted to make ART available in the developing world. By 2006, almost 1.3 million patients were receiving ART (comprising mostly generic drugs), a 5-fold increase compared with five years earlier; however, significant challenges in ART availability remain. With international patent laws now being applicable in India (and in most developing countries), generics companies may no longer be able to provide HIV/AIDS-afflicted countries with new third-generation drugs at low prices. Innovative solutions will need to be obtained urgently to address this issue.