AIDs, Patents, and Patient Access
AIDs, Patents, and Patient Access
HU245
AIDs, Patents, and Patient Access
AIDS is defined as the severe immunological disorder caused by the retrovirus HIV, resulting in a defect in cell-meditated immune response (AIDS, n.d.). In the past twenty-five years the outbreak of HIV/AIDS has grown significantly. Approximately 42 million people are currently living with the HIV infection. By the year 2010 it is projected that the infected will reach above 60 million, possibly as high as 110 million (Beauchamp, 2004). There is a pharmaceutical drug that has been documented as having successfully beaten HIV, but why are the infected numbers still so high?
With the number increasing literally per day, the government and pharmaceutical businesses have decided to capitalize on their drug therapies. The U.S. National Cancer Institute was actually able to discover a drug referred to as “AZT” that could kill the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). The company, Burroughs Wellcome (B-W), obtained the exclusive license to market the drug and was then allowed to set the price. Unfortunately, pharmaceutical companies typically attempt to recover their research and developmental costs by charging an arm and a leg for their product.
B-W began their market of AZT at a year’s supply for $10,000 and a wholesale price at $8,300. Figures were strictly kept away from general public in hopes to keep outbursts about the cost to a minimum. This immediately infuriated the public and began to protest Wellcome’s proposing costs. Despite public outrage, the group decreased their costs by an undersized 20% but still managing to keep their price relatively high.
In today’s society, we have become dependent on pharmaceutical drugs to “correct” some of our wrong doings. For example, in 2006 the FDA made a drug readily accessible to females over the age of 18 (Rose, 2009). Levonorgestrel, or Plan-B, has sadly become a common escape-goat for many females who have
HU245
AIDs, Patents, and Patient Access
AIDS is defined as the severe immunological disorder caused by the retrovirus HIV, resulting in a defect in cell-meditated immune response (AIDS, n.d.). In the past twenty-five years the outbreak of HIV/AIDS has grown significantly. Approximately 42 million people are currently living with the HIV infection. By the year 2010 it is projected that the infected will reach above 60 million, possibly as high as 110 million (Beauchamp, 2004). There is a pharmaceutical drug that has been documented as having successfully beaten HIV, but why are the infected numbers still so high?
With the number increasing literally per day, the government and pharmaceutical businesses have decided to capitalize on their drug therapies. The U.S. National Cancer Institute was actually able to discover a drug referred to as “AZT” that could kill the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). The company, Burroughs Wellcome (B-W), obtained the exclusive license to market the drug and was then allowed to set the price. Unfortunately, pharmaceutical companies typically attempt to recover their research and developmental costs by charging an arm and a leg for their product.
B-W began their market of AZT at a year’s supply for $10,000 and a wholesale price at $8,300. Figures were strictly kept away from general public in hopes to keep outbursts about the cost to a minimum. This immediately infuriated the public and began to protest Wellcome’s proposing costs. Despite public outrage, the group decreased their costs by an undersized 20% but still managing to keep their price relatively high.
In today’s society, we have become dependent on pharmaceutical drugs to “correct” some of our wrong doings. For example, in 2006 the FDA made a drug readily accessible to females over the age of 18 (Rose, 2009). Levonorgestrel, or Plan-B, has sadly become a common escape-goat for many females who have
References: AIDS. (n.d.) The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. (2003). Retrieved April 10 2013 fromhttp://www.thefreedictionary.com/AIDS Beauchamp, T. L, (2004). Case Studies in Business, Society, and Ethics. (5th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc. O 'Reilly, B. (1990).CNN Money. The Inside Story of the AIDS Drug. Retrieved from http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archive/1990/11/05/74308/ Rose, H. (July 2009), Drugs.com. FDA Approves Plan B One-Step. Retrieved from http://www.drugs.com/newdrugs/fda-approves-plan-b-one-step-new-one-pill-emergency-contraceptive-1486.html