Patents and Patients
Drug Companies Set High Prices for HIV Treatment
US pharmaceutical companies are more interested in protecting their valuable drugs patents than treating Indian AIDS sufferers.
Dr Hamied works for CILPA, an Indian drug company that develops medicines for HIV sufferers. He aims to make treatment affordable for India's poor. Yet he has been accused by multi-nationals pharmaceutical firms of 'theft.' "Patents are vital to protecting the development of new drugs." claims Dr. Raaijmakers. Dr Hamied counters this though, stating; "Companies spend twice as much marketing their products, rather than developing them." To make matters worse, few people understand how to effectively take Hamied's drugs, creating the possibility of drug resistant strains of HIV.
Produced by EO TV
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