Thailand 'happy' with Abbott's price cut amid generic drug row
Thailand, which is at loggerheads with Western pharmaceutical giants over generic drugs, on Wednesday welcomed US drug maker Abbott's offer to sharply cut the price of a key Aids medicine.
But it stopped short of saying whether the proposal would change its earlier plan to import copycat versions of pricey medicines, including Abbott's anti-Aids drug Kaletra."I feel very happy about the proposal. It shows that the company understands our position," said Suchart Chongtrasert, a senior official at the health ministry's Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Thailand's army-backed government has jolted the powerful pharmaceutical industry by allowing generic versions of Kaletra, another Aids drug Efavirenz, and popular heart disease medicine Plavix. Even after announcing the generic drug scheme, the Thai government has continued talks with Abbott and foreign drug firms in a bid to secure cheaper prices for all three medicines. On Tuesday, the FDA held separate meetings with Abbott and Efavirenz's maker, the US-based drug giant Merck, which is known outside the United States as MSD. During the meeting, Abbott offered to reduce the price of 30 Kaletra tablets per person to 3,488.20 baht (100 dollars) per month, down 40 per cent from its earlier proposal, said Suchart, who was among the FDA price negotiators. The new price could be cheaper than the generic version of Kaletra, Suchart said, but added the government must further examine Abbott's offer until making its final decision. But activists gave a cautious welcome to Abbott's offer, saying that the new price would only apply to an older version of Kaletra that it currently sells in Thailand. In March, Abbott said it would stop selling new drugs to the kingdom -- including an improved version of Kaletra in a protest against the ministry's generic drug program. Brigitte Tenni, an activist from Thai Network of People Living with HIV/Aids said Abbott should offer the latest version of Kaletra to Thai patients at affordable prices. "This is a positive step, but the company should do more. Thai patients should have access to the new version of Kaletra," Tenni said. FDA's Suchart said Abbott did not discuss its ban on new drugs in Thailand. An official from Abbott could not be reached for comment. An MSD official declined to give details, adding no agreement was made during Tuesday's talks. Aids is Thailand's top cause of death, followed by heart disease, the health ministry says, adding that some 500,000 Thais are infected with HIV, but fewer than 10 per cent of them can afford to buy Kaletra. Agence France-Presse
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