Anti-AIDS drugs now affordable for Pinoys

The Acquired Immune-Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) remains a modern scourge that seems to have equaled the devastating effect of the bubonic plague during the Middle Ages. The deadly disease has taken its devastating toll mainly in the developing nations of Sub-Saharan Africa and Asia.

In the Philippines, Boehringer Ingelheim Phils. (BIPHI) realizes that making anti-HIV/AIDS drugs more accessible and affordable to afflicted patients is critical to successfully combating the AIDS dilemma.

Recognizing the need to increase the availability of medicines for the treatment of HIV/AIDS, BIPHI recently sold Viramune (nevirapine), a potent and well-tolerated therapeutic option for HIV-infected adult and pediatric patients, to the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine (RITM) in Alabang, Muntinlupa at a discount of 70 percent relative to its original price.

This move is part of Boehringer Ingelheim’s initiatives to make Viramune more affordable to AIDS patients in developing countries. The company has sold Viramune to many developing countries around the globe, from Asia, Europe to Sub-Saharan Africa, at significantly reduced prices.

"Studies have demonstrated that Viramune can fill a critical need in the developing world," said Prof. Rolf Krebs, chairman of the Boehringer Ingelheim board of managing directors.

"We are confident that our initiative will continue to increase access to this important drug and will have a considerable impact in the developing world," Krebs added.

BIPHI is now discussing with Dr. Loreto Roquero of the Department of Health and Dr. James Piad of the Philippine National AIDS Council to make Viramune tablets available to selected public hospitals at a significantly reduced price.

The company said a memorandum of agreement is being finalized for submission to Health Secretary Manuel Dayrit for approval. The pharmaceutical firm believes this will further boost the country’s campaign against AIDS.

Stefan Kilian, the firm’s managing director, hopes that other international pharmaceutical companies will soon follow BIPHI’s example of offering HIV treatment in the Philippines at reduced prices. After all, most AIDS patients are relying on a combination therapy, comprising of several anti-retroviral drugs.

AIDS is an incurable disease of the immune system which makes the afflicted individuals vulnerable to life-threatening disease, including candidiasis, pneumonia, herpes and tuberculosis, to name a few.

The syndrome is caused by the HIV which can be transmitted through body fluids, notably blood and semen, sexual contact, contaminated needles, and transfusion of infected blood.

As an antiretroviral (ARV) drug, Viramune provides a potent and well-tolerated therapeutic option for HIV-infected adult and pediatric patients combined with other effective ARV agents. It suppresses viral replication with minimal long-term toxicity.

Viramune is registered in over 75 countries for chronic treatment of HIV in combination with other anti-retroviral agents. Viramune is manufactured by Boehringer Ingelheim, a group of companies based in Ingelheim, Germany and one of the 20 leading pharmaceutical corporations in the world.

Boehringer Ingelheim has some 10 affiliated companies worldwide, which include BIPHI, and it focuses on human pharmaceuticals and animal health.

The human pharmaceuticals business covers prescription medicines, consumer health care products and chemicals and biopharmaceuticals for industrial customers.

Boehringer Ingelheim spends an ample fraction of its net sales for research and development which the company deems necessary in creating potent drugs to combat dreaded diseases.

For more information on Boehringer Ingelheim Corp., visit the website www.us.boehringer-ingeheim.com.