BRAZIL: THE BRAZILIAN HEALTH MINISTRY AND THE BRAZILIAN PHARMACY INSTITIUTE HAVE PROVIDED FREE DRUGS TO HIV POSITIVE BRAZILIANS LOWERING THE INFECTION RATE

Record ID: 647937

  • Title: BRAZIL: THE BRAZILIAN HEALTH MINISTRY AND THE BRAZILIAN PHARMACY INSTITIUTE HAVE PROVIDED FREE DRUGS TO HIV POSITIVE BRAZILIANS LOWERING THE INFECTION RATE
  • Date: 13th July 2004
  • Summary: (U7)RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL (JULY 14, 2004) (REUTERS) 1. GV RIO DE JANEIRO 0.04 2. GV/LV OSWALDO CRUZ FOUNDATION IN THE BACKGROUND (2 SHOTS) 0.09 3. CU OF SIGN FOR OSWALDO CRUZ FOUNDATION 0.12 4. SLV/CU EXTERIOR OF FAR-MANGUINHOS LABORATORY - OSWALDO CRUZ LAB (2 SHOTS) 0.19 5. SV LABORATORY TECHNICIANS ENTERING LABORATORY 0.27 6. CU SIGN READS: AREA OF ANTI-VIRUS PRODUCTION 0.30 7. SV LABORATORY TECHNICIANS WORKING 0.33 8. CU/SV VARIOUS MEDICINE BEING PRODUCED (6 SHOTS) 0.58 9. SV FAR-MANGUINHOS DIRECTOR ARRIVING 1.05 10. SV DIRECTOR HOLDING GRAPHIC 1.09 11. CU GRAPHIC OF COSTS OF ANTI-VIRUS PRODUCTION 1.12 12. MCU (Portuguese) FAR-MANGUINHOS LABORATORY DIRECTOR, NUBIA BOECHAT, SAYING "Far-Manguinhos has been working to produce medicine and making whatever changes, helping in any technological way that we can to improve the treatment and help the government." 1.32 13. SV/CU VARIOUS MEDICATION BEING PRODUCED (4 SHOTS) 1.43 14. MCU (Portuguese) BOECHAT SAYING "Developing this product is very useful for dealing with the companies that hold the patent. Brazil has used that strategy to lower the cost of the patented medications for the treatment." 2.07 15. CU MEDICATION 2.10 16. SV TECHNICIAN PLACING CHEMICALS IN A MACHINE 2.18 17. MCU (Portuguese) BOECHAT SAYING: "Prevention is fundamental. The lack of real investment to try and find a vaccine against this is another factor, because in the past years nothing has been developed in the area of the vaccine." 2.36 (U7)RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL (JULY 13, 2004)(REUTERS) 18. SV MARCELO BARCELLOS, INFECTED WITH AIDS, ARRIVING AT OFFICE (2 SHOTS) 2.46 19. CU OF MARCELO WORKING AT DESK (2 SHOTS) 2.53 20. MCU (Portuguese) AIDS PATIENT, MARCELO BARCELLO, SAYING: "The actual medicine is extremely important but from my point of view it's still too little seeing as to what is happening in terms of how the disease is evolving." 3.09 21. CU MARCELO WITH HIS MEDICATION (2 SHOTS) 3.23 22. MCU (Portuguese) MARCELO SAYING: "What is really needed is a vaccine which will prevent AIDS." 3.30 23. SLV/CU MARCELO WORKING IN HIS OFFICE (2 SHOTS) 3.42 Initials Script is copyright Reuters Limited. All rights reserved
  • Embargoed: 28th July 2004 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL
  • Country: Brazil
  • Reuters ID: LVA57TEMGGPAARETHGC65KVHVEQS
  • Story Text: The Brazilian Health Ministry and the Brazilian
    Pharmacy Institute have provided free drugs to HIV positive
    Brazilians since 1996 lowering the infection rate by 70
    percent and creating a model other countrys can use to
    fight the disease.



    Brazilian state laboratory Far-Manguinhos broke the
    Swiss patent for nelfinavir, the anti-AIDS drug cocktail,
    in 2001. Ever since, it has developed and distributed the
    life saving drug to over 150,000 Brazilian AIDS helping to
    prevent the epidemic spread of the disease that many
    experts expected.

    Under Brazilian law, the government can issue a
    compulsory license to make a patented drug when a "national emergency" is invoked.

    "Developing this product is very useful for dealing
    with the companies that hold the patent. Brazil has used
    that strategy to lower the cost of the patented medications
    for the treatment," said Nubia Boechat, Laboratory Director
    for Far-Manguinhos.

    The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates six
    million people in poor countries need the treatment that
    many rich world sufferers now take for granted. An
    estimated five million people are expected to be infected
    with the HIV virus and three million people, or nearly
    8,000 a day, die of it, making universal HIV/AIDS treatment
    an imperative for developing nations. Brazil's efforts
    have been hailed by the international community.

    In 1992, the World Bank estimated that 1.2 million
    people in Brazil would be carrying the HIV virus by 2000.

    Instead, according to Brazilian government figures, some
    600,000 are infected with the virus of which 150,000 have
    the full blown symptoms. The survival rate of AIDS
    patients today grew 12 times - from 5 to 58 months and
    mortality rates have fallen by 70 per cent.

    "What is really needed is a vaccine which will prevent
    AIDS," said Brazilian AIDS patient Marcelo Barcello putting
    into words what millions hope for.

    Brazil has lowered its yearly cost of the medication
    from $336 million in 1999 to an estimated payment in 2004
    of $148 million. The country is trying to assist as many
    patients as possible given budget constraints.

    "Far-Manguinhos has been working to produce medicine
    and making whatever changes, helping in any technological
    way that we can to improve the treatment and help the
    government," said Boechat.

    In December of last year (2003) WHO said it would use
    Brazil's controversial HIV/AIDS treatment program as a
    model in its battle to treat three million of the world's
    poor with AIDS drugs by 2005.

    Far-Manguinhos is currently looking for ways to help
    countries in Africa and it's neighbours throughout Latin
    American. As part of cooperation with the WHO, Brazil is
    studying manufacturing medications the organization plans
    to use in it's so called "3 by 5" plan at low cost public
    and private laboratories. Another possible alternative is
    building a Brazilian plant in Mozambique.


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