WHO releases list of recommended AIDS drugs

In a move that could reduce the price of AIDS drugs for poor countries, the World Health Organisation (WHO) released its first list of safe HIV-related medicines on Wednesday. "We hope this project will help HIV positive people gain greater access to affordable HIV medicines of good quality," Dr Peter Piot, director of UNAIDS, said in a joint WHO and UNAIDS press release.

The list released this week includes 11 antiretroviral drugs and five drugs for opportunistic infections. Of the total, 26 came from major manufacturers and 10 were from leading Indian generic drug producer, Cipla. The company was one of the first generic manufacturers to offer cheaper AIDS drugs to African governments. The decision means that there will be price competition among manufacturers of important antiretroviral treatments. Cipla products include Nevirapine, Zidovudine (AZT), and Lamivudine (3TC), which make up a common AIDS cocktail.

International humanitarian organisation, Medecines Sans Frontieres (MSF), welcomed the involvement of generic manufacturers but expressed concerns about the process used. "MSF regrets that the WHO prequalification process was started too late and that it has been so slow, considering that the first expressions of interest from producers were received in December 2000," the organisation said in a statement.

"This is the beginning of an ongoing process," Daniela Bagozzi, communications officer for the Health, Technology and Pharmaceuticals division of WHO, told PlusNews on Friday. WHO was still reviewing other products and suppliers and would add them to the list once they had met the set standards, she added.

The absence of essential drugs such as Fluconazole - used for treating thrush and cryptococal meningitis - was also a concern, as this would give users a false impression about their quality, the MSF statement added.

"But we are really supportive of this project because we want the maximum number of patients to benefit from these drugs," Carmen Perez-Casas pharmaceutical co-ordinator for MSF, told PlusNews.

[This item is delivered to the English Service of the UN's IRIN humanitarian information unit, but may not necessarily reflect the views
of the United Nations.]