Ivory Coast Reaches Deal with Drug Companies for Cheaper Anti-AIDS Drugs
The Ivory Coast has agreed with Bristol-Myers Squibb, Merck, and GlaxoSmithKline to receive "massive price cuts" for anti-AIDS drugs, BBC News reports. Assana Sangare, the Ivorian minister with oversight of AIDS policy, said that the reduction of about 80% would bring the cost of treating an HIV-positive patient down to about $100 per month. She indicated that the expense of treating AIDS patients "at the old prices would have been far greater than the country's entire national health budget." Sangare added that negotiations were underway with other companies (BBC News, 3/10).
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