Tomorrow is World AIDS Day. Top stories from DAWNS Digest
J&J Opens Door for Generic Production of AIDS Drug
Good news for the long struggle to reduce the costs of HIV medicines. “Generic manufacturers are to be given a free rein to make cheap copies of Johnson & Johnson’s HIV/AIDS drug Prezista for sale in Africa and other poor countries. U.S. healthcare group J&J said on Thursday it would not enforce patents, provided generic firms made high-quality versions of the drug – known generically as darunavir – for sub-Saharan Africa and Least Developed Countries.” (Reuters http://reut.rs/11l7Gww )
US Launches AIDS Eradication Blueprint
Hillary Clinton launched The PEPfAR Blueprint: “Creating an AIDS-free Generation in Washington DC Yesterday “ The United States leads the world in contributions in the fight against AIDS, having invested over $37 billion to date in bilateral funding and over $7 billion in the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. However, the United States alone cannot achieve an AIDS-free generation. It requires the commitment of partner countries, reinforced with support from donor nations, civil society, people living with HIV, faith-based organizations, the private sector, foundations and multilateral institutions. It means investing in the principle of country ownership—the end state in which partner countries lead, manage, coordinate and over time increasingly finance the efforts needed to achieve an AIDS-free generation in order to ensure that the AIDS response is effective, efficient and durable. (Pepfar http://1.usa.gov/11l8x0h)