| In 1996, Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy (HAART) - an effective combination therapy that delays the onset of AIDS - became available to those living with HIV in rich countries. Within four years, death rates for people with HIV/AIDS in developed countries had dropped by 84%.
At a cost of £7,000 - £10,000 per person per year, these ARVs were far too expensive for the majority of HIV-infected people in developing countries. Five years after HAART was introduced in the West, fewer than 8,000 people in sub-Saharan Africa were receiving these life-saving drugs.
At the beginning of the new millennium there was a breakthrough in treatment provision for developing countries when 3 Indian pharmaceutical companies started producing generic "copycat" antiretrovirals (all WHO approved) that were exactly the same formulation as those made by the pharmaceutical companies owning these patents, but significantly cheaper. This competition, coupled with pressure from activists, organisations - such as the Clinton Foundation - and governments of poor countries with severe AIDS epidemics, dramatically reduced the price of ARVs for developing countries. Roughly at the time AA was starting in 2002, triple combination therapy became available from Indian generic manufacturers for as little as £350 pp/pa.
The price of antiretrovirals for low and middle income countries has continued to fall. Between 2004 and 2007, the prices of most first-line drugs decreased dramatically. From certain sources, only available to specific NGOs, the most widely used 1st Line triple combination antiretroviral combination (3TC/d4T/NVP) - called Triomune may cost as little as £80 per patient per year. The current average cost of comprehensive ARV treatment is around £280 per person per year. This cost includes the supply of 1st Line triple combination ARVs plus access to effective and comprehensive medical care. |
