Representatives from AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) recently met with the CEO of the generic manufacturer CIPLA (BOM:500087), Dr.Y.K. Hamied in Mumbai (India) in order to discuss the concerns on the current high price and inaccessibility of CIPLA's new one-pill-a-day antiretroviral treatment called Viraday.
The high price of 'Viraday', according to Dr. Hamied, is (in part) due to excessive custom duties and taxes imposed on CIPLA by the Indian Government on drugs distributed within India.
According to Dr.Chinkholal Thangsing, AHF Asia Pacific Bureau Chief:
"AHF and CIPLA agree that there should be concessions from the Indian Government to exempt such duties and taxes for HIVAIDS drugs.
With more than 5.7 million people estimated to be living with HIV in India there is an urgent need for the government to assist companies like CIPLA and organizations like AHF in making lifesaving ARV drugs available to the people.
We agreed to work on a joint strategy to address these issues immediately in collaboration with the government and other advocacy groups in India."
And I thought drugs in India are cheap. Am I wrong?
Source: AHF
[Photo Credit: CNN]
Dear Sir/s
Dr. has recomendated medicine brand name FLUIMUCIL which contains drug Acetylcysteine. It is learnt that your company has also manucaturing the same drug under your different brand name. If it is so, please let me know the same brand name of your product
thanks
satish Jadhav
Posted by: satish b. jadhav | October 24, 2007 12:22 PM | Permalink to Comment