The chances of survival for Chinese AIDS patients and HIV carriers
are climbing as the central government's efforts to provide cheap
and effective medicines begin to yield results.
Official sources quoted by Xinhua News Agency said that
imported anti-AIDS drugs are expected to become exempt from customs
taxes in the near future in order to lessen the financial burden on
AIDS patients.
Though the report did not reveal any details about the tax
exemption, it said the policies are expected to greatly reduce the
price of the drugs.
Reports said major international AIDS drug manufacturers are also
expected to lower their drug prices in China following negotiations
with related governmental departments.
Besides imported drugs, a series of anti-AIDS medicines
manufactured by domestic companies is also on the market.
Sources with the State Drug Administration (SDA) said priority
would be given to domestically made anti-AIDS drugs during the
examination and approval process, so as to speed up public access
to the drugs and shorten waiting times for anxious patients.
Zidovudine, also known as AZT, first got approval from the SDA in
early August. It is manufactured by the Northeast China
Pharmaceutical Group Company.
Other related medicines such as Didanosine (DDI) and Stavudine
(D4T), which are produced by Shanghai DESANO Pharmaceutical Group
and the Northeast China Pharmaceuticals Group Company, also got
approval from the SDA recently, according to a CCTV report.
All three are crucial parts of the effective "cocktail"
therapy.
"It only took 7.5 months for the domestic legal imitation of AZT to
be approved after its initial application," said Chen Gang, general
manager of Northeast China Pharmaceutical Group Company.
Undoubtedly, AIDS patients and HIV carriers will directly benefit
from the medicines and the new policies.
The price of AIDS drugs on the international market is about
US$10,000 a year while the price of domestically made drugs is only
5 to 7 per cent of that amount - about US$360 or so.
The lower price "will enable most AIDS patients to afford
continuous treatment," Chen said.
Before the debut of the Chinese-made AZT, all anti-AIDS medicines
were imported. They were too expensive for most ordinary AIDS
patients.
The total number of AIDS patients and HIV carriers is estimated at
40 million worldwide, and 95 per cent of them live in developing
countries.
As
of the first half of 2002, the number of people reported to have
AIDS or be infected with the HIV virus in China reached 1
million.
(China
Daily October 11, 2002)