Wall Street Journal 11 May 2000 2. 9 July 2000 5. According to the article, exact prices were supposed to be settled upon in the weeks to come. As a first step, MSF calls on the five multinational drug companies to immediately reduce the price of their AIDS drugs in poor countries by 95 per cent. Major discounts for poor countries should be similar to those already in place for vaccines and contraceptives.
Brazil is the most striking example of how local generic drug production can reduce prices.
The Brazilian approach has been to import the best quality generic raw materials and locally manufacture finished products. Countries such as Burkina Faso, Cambodia, Guatemala, South Africa and Uganda have been speaking both to Brazilian and Indian generic manufacturers that can sell the products at true discounted prices. Brazil has also been discussing technology transfer with other developing countries, so that they can begin producing their own quality medicines. More recently, the organisation has expanded its approach to encompass preventing transmission from mother to child, and preventing and treating opportunistic infections in HIV-infected people. Small-scale antiretroviral programs are being or will be launched in Thailand, Guatemala, El Salvador, Cameroon, South Africa, and Cambodia.