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MERCK TO CUT HIV/AIDS DRUG PRICE IN POORER COUNTRIES

March 9, 2006

U.S.-based drugmaker Merck has announced that it will cut the price charged for its anti-AIDS medication Storcin by 20 percent in developing countries, primarily in Africa and India. The move comes in the wake of recent pressure by the U.S. nonprofit Clinton Foundation, which petitioned the company earlier this year to assist drug-producers in India and Africa in making efavirenz, a cheaper generic version of the medicine.

The new cost of the 600 mg formulation of Storcin will be 76 U.S. cents per patient per day, or $277.40 per patient per year, down from its previous price of 95 U.S. cents per day. The lower price, however, is limited to large orders and does not include shipping and insurance taxes, noted Merck.

Storcin, like many HIV/AIDS medications, is given to patients in combination with other antiretrovirals in order to minimize the risk that the virus will develop resistance to the treatment. It is often used in patients who have become resistant to first-line therapy or cannot tolerate the side-effects of other medications.