Statistics on patients suffering with either an HIV infection or full-blown Aids reveal this fact: Two thirds of those living in low and middle income countries cannot afford to maintain the required treatments necessary to combat their disease. This statement underscores the need for efforts to improve HIV Aids medicine access. Those efforts seek to remedy a situation that has developed following creation of the various antiretroviral drugs (ARVs).
 
When first introduced, the ARVs were a series of drugs that had to be taken according to an established schedule, and on, a daily basis. In other words, originally only those who could afford to pay for a treatment that can cost up to $10,000 per day per person could have the hope to find relief from the expected symptoms associated with the disease caused by one particular retrovirus. As more and more people in locations such as Africa contracted that same disease, a number of groups realized the need to address the epidemic.
 
Some drug manufacturing companies have sought to improve public access to their products. Some of them have filed for patents on new ways to combine older drugs. In that way, such companies hope to make it easier for patients to obtain and use the existing combinations.
 
Still, there are a number of factors that manage to put limits on the degree to which any one group can deal with the barriers to cheaper medicines. One of those is the food restrictions that are associated with certain medicinal products. Sometimes those restrictions can limit a drug’s effectiveness when used in combination with another medicine. For example, one ARV now on the market must be taken on an empty stomach, while a second one absorbs better when ingested alongside food.
 
In addition, low concessionary prices do not offer an effective solution. The NGOs and the UN agencies that seek to promote such prices have felt pressure from governments and other powerful institutions. Moreover, their endeavors do not fully eliminate the alarming price difference that creates problems for those who depend on ARVs.
 
For example, one of the least expensive two-drug combinations must be taken along with a very expensive third drug. That bit of information underlines the need for further research. The goal of those investigations should be the creation and distribution of large numbers of virus-fighting medicines.

This entry was posted on Friday, January 20th, 2012 at 4:54 pm and is filed under Health. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.