Clinton's Aids deal snubs Bush plan

revramrod · Posted: 07 Apr 2004 12:57 AM Post subject: Clinton's Aids deal snubs Bush plan

Clinton's Aids deal snubs Bush plan
http://www.guardian.co.uk/aids/story/0,7369,1187130,00.html

The former US president Bill Clinton yesterday took a swipe at the Bush administration's close relationship with American pharmaceutical giants by announcing a deal to enable poor countries to buy cheap generic drugs and testing equipment for Aids, rather than the US companies' more expensive wares.

The deal with five generic drug companies will bring the cost of Aids drugs down to $140 (£76) per person per year and cut the cost of testing equipment by 80%.

Damn liberal ex-president. How dare he undermine American pharmaceutical profiteering by helping third-word countries develop effective AIDS medication?

While I understand that $140 a year is a hefty price to pay in the third-world, particularly in African nations, where AIDS runs most rampant, this is absolutely a step in the right direction toward making AIDS medication accessible to the rest of the world. Besides, its not like these people can afford the current cost of American-made medications, which runs in the thousands of dollars per year. At least this way, more people will have a shot at a longer lifespan or cure.

I know critics will say that, in the long run, these companies will not be able to compete with the R&D budgets the American companies possess, and that it may (possibly) motivate American companies to pull back their R&D funding once overseas AIDS medications make their way into the U.S. (whether legally or illegally), and thus cut into their profits, but I feel it's worth it.

Besides, granting patents on medications is absurdly retarded. I'm confident that these other pharmaceutical companies will be more forthcoming with their findings. Unlike the majority of American pharmaceutical companies, who only are mostly only concerned with the profit-earning potentials of diseases.

Anti-Aids activists were delighted. "The historic Clinton Foundation drug pricing and distribution deal is a powerful slap to President Bush's arrogant attempts to limit the use of generic Aids medicines to suit the whims of his pharmaceutical backers," said Paul Davis from the US-based Health GAP.

A powerful bitchslap, to be exact.

carnicerodegiles · Posted: 07 Apr 2004 01:29 AM Post subject:

This would be really good. I personally think that AIDS, in the pharmaceutical industry point of view, means nothing but business to them. That's one reason why I think that it's not very believable that they have not found a cure yet. Just think about the millions they would lose. Who knows, if this actually happens it could be a step towards them "finding" a cure.