Government Leaves Patents For AIDS Drug Intact

[Khephra]

Government Leaves Patents For AIDS Drug Intact
Patient Advocates Request Patent Override To Reduce Price

POSTED: 4:29 pm EDT August 4, 2004

The government Wednesday refused to override patents on the AIDS drug Norvir. The move had been requested to lower the price.

Abbott Laboratories raised the price of Norvir in December by about 400 percent -- to about $8.50 a day.

The National Institutes of Health had been petitioned to let other companies make and sell the drug in an effort to bring down its price. Federal law rarely allows that to happen in cases where the government helped finance the drug in question. But Norvir was privately patented.

Abbott Labs said it needed to make back some of the millions it spent developing the drug and said it remains one of the cheaper AIDS drugs on the market.

http://www.wsoctv.com/health/3616492/detail.html

[Caution]

1. well at least the bush admin is consistent right

consistently evil that is.

[0007]

3. Man, you got that one right!

[beyurslf]

2. That is one of the cheapest anti AIDS drugs around.

At 250 a month that is not bad. Some cost 5 times that!

[Caution]

4. $250/month isnt bad?

are you serious?

$250/month is nearly $400/month earned income.

Assume you have to live somewhere that costs money - minimum $400/month
assume you like to occasionally eat some ramen noodles and drink some water - $200/month

$850/month for food, shelter and the drugs that keep you alive.

wage - $10/hour x 40 hours (if you are lucky enough to get full time low wage employment) = $400/week x 4 = $1600/month BEFORE taxes call it an even $1200/month total living wage

$1200 - $850 = $350 which is then used to cover heat/electricity/phone

now throw in a car payment, gas, clothing, credit card debt, or any other number of items.

Great to be poor and sick in America ain't it?