Pharmaceutical Role in HIV & AIDS

Globally, UNAIDS estimates that over 36 million people are living with HIV and AIDS, as of July 2010. The organization also estimates that another 22 million have died as a result of the epidemic. As HIV and AIDS treatments have advanced, pharmaceuticals and pharmaceutical companies have become major players in the battle to combat the disease. The controversy around the prices of these treatments has taken center stage, especially in the developing countries that are home to a significant portion of the living HIV/AIDS population.

Generic Drug Advancements

• Since 2000, generic drug manufacturers and negotiations with large pharmaceutical companies have led to a dramatic drop in the cost of many HIV/AIDS treatments, which has been a major factor in the success of the epidemic management. In the developing countries hardest hit by the epidemic, antiretrovial drug availability and price drops have resulted in far more successful disease management in the lower- and middle-class populations. Still, many anti-AIDS drugs remain accessible only to those in the West because of price and pharmaceutical licensing.

Critics of the Pharmaceutical Industry

• Many critics of the pharmaceutical industry believe that it is unfair for companies to make huge profits on drugs needed to combat a global public-health crisis. Developing countries have long criticized the Western companies that hold patents on AIDS/HIV drugs; they contend that these companies are limiting and slowing the impact pharmaceutical advancements can have on the epidemic by charging too high a price for the drug. As a result, countries such as India, Brazil and South Africa have allowed non-Western companies to infringe on foreign patents in order to make the drugs available cheaply.

Tiered Pricing

• To increase the impact of pharmaceutical treatments, big pharmaceuticals have negotiated a tiered pricing systems for HIV/AIDS pharmaceuticals. Tiered pricing means that the price companies charge for their drugs is flexible. The amount is calculated by considering the average income per person of the nation. However, this practice is criticized: Developing nations feel the pricing structure is still too firmly controlled by pharmaceuticals.

Need for Pharmaceutical Advancement

• Because drug tolerance is an issue in HIV/AIDS treatments, advancements in pharmaceuticals are continually needed in the HIV/AIDS battle. This ensures that pharmaceutical companies with large drug-development budgets will continue to be major players in battling the epidemic.

Combination Therapies

• The five groups of antiretroviral drugs are Nucleotide Reverse Transcriptase Inhibitors, Non-Nucleoside Reverse Transcriptase Inhibitors, Protease Inhibitors, Fusion or Entry Inhibitors, and Integrase Inhibitors. A combination of these drugs is needed to successfully combat HIV/AIDS. However, the combination therapy an individual receives in developing counties is often determined by price and availability, not by effectiveness. Since pharmaceutical companies are concerned with both the advancement of treatments and making a profit on their products, they continue to be embroiled in an ethical tug-of-war.