The antiretroviral drug Tenofovir used to treat HIV/AIDS patients will be available on the Thai market for around US$1 (Bt38) per tablet, 90 per cent cheaper than on the US or European markets.

Prof Dr Prapan Panupark, director of the Thai Red Cross Society's AIDS Research Centre has told a press conference that the centre and related officials had been informed by a US-based pharmaceutical manufacturer, Gilead, that the drug Tenofovir had been registered with the Thai Food and Drug Adminis-tration on August 15.

Tenofovir is an alternative for HIV/AIDS patients who have become resistant to GPO-Vir, made by the Government Pharmaceutical Organisation and those with the hepatitis B virus. The drug is in the same group as AZT, D4T and DDI drugs, but has less powerful side-effects of sunken cheeks and withered legs and arms and has been used in treating HIV/AIDS patients in many countries. In the US alone it has been used for over three years at a cost of around Bt15,000 per month per head, Prapan said.

As Tenofovir is used in combination with two other antiviral medications, such as 3TC (Epivir) and Nevirapine, both of which can be manufactured in Thailand, treatment here would cost around Bt2,600 per month per person, he said. If used together with Efavirenz, the bill would come to around Bt5,000 per month per head.

Prapan said with more and more patients developing GPO-Vir resistance, there is a need for a new drug.

He insisted the press conference had not been called to help promote the pharmaceutical company and he did not know which company would be a distributor in Thailand. The move was simply to inform people about the pricing scheme to help prevent unrealistic overpricing.

Physician Anchalee Avihing-sanon of the HIV Netherlands Australia Thailand Research Collaboration said Tenofovir had been tested on 600 patients in Thailand and had yielded a satisfactory result with fewer side-affects.

However the drug has been found to affect kidney function, although only 20 such cases have occurred world-wide, with only one case in Thailand. Anchalee said however that the Thai patient had experienced previous kidney problems.

The Disease Control Depart-ment director-general Thawat Sunthrajarn said Tenofovir was sold at high prices in other countries and it was therefore positive it would be sold cheaply in Thailand, as it is an alternative for HIV/AIDS patients who have built up resistance to other medications.

Duangkamol  Sajirawatthanakul

The Nation