Cheap drugs for HIV/AIDS to come in October

Cheap drugs for HIV/AIDS to come in October

Sri Wahyuni and Muninggar Sri Saraswati, The Jakarta Post,
Yogyakarta/Jakarta

People living with HIV/AIDS in Indonesia have been given new hope
for a more affordable HIV/AIDS treatment following the
announcement of plans by a state-owned pharmaceutical company to
produce anti-retroviral (ARV) drugs in the near future.

Kimia Farma president director Gunawan Pranoto said on Monday
that the generic ARV drugs were expected to be available in
October.

"We are waiting for a permit from the government to produce
and distribute them," said Gunawan, adding that the ARV drugs
would be produced at its plant in Bandung, West Java.

Currently, Indonesia imports ARV drugs from India, China and
Thailand, which are sold at around Rp 650,000 for a one-month
supply.

ARV drugs have proven effective in helping people living with
HIV/AIDS to live a more productive life and in reducing mortality
and morbidity by possible infectious diseases contracted from
complications resulting from HIV/AIDS.

Gunawan said locally produced ARV would cost around Rp 500,000
per monthly supply, and would be available at government health
institutions and other institutions licensed by the government.

The production of ARV would be determined only by request from
those institutions.

"The products will also be available at Kimia Farma
pharmacies," said Gunawan, adding that the company has 300
pharmacies across the country, including in troubled provinces
such as Maluku, Aceh and Papua.

He said Kimia Farma would produce five different kinds of ARV
drugs under the brand names Reviral, Hiviral, Neviral, Duviral
and Triviral.

The active ingredient in Reviral is 100 mg of Zidovudin,
Hiviral consists of 150 mg Lamivudin, Neviral consists of 100 mg
Nevirapine, Duviral consists of 150 mg Lamivudine and 300 mg of
Zidovudine, while Triviral consists of 150 mg Lamivudine, 300 mg
of Zidovudine and 200 mg of Nevirapine.

Gunawan said the company could produce more affordable
products because it did not need to invest in infrastructure nor
distribution network development.

The Ministry of Health confirmed separately on Monday that the
government planned to disburse a monthly subsidy of Rp 400
million in medication for 2,000 poor people living with HIV/AIDS
next year.

The ministry would channel the fund, taken from its routine
budget, directly to the pharmacy company, an official said in
Jakarta.

The Access to Therapy and Diagnosis coordinator of the Working
Group on AIDS at Jakarta-based University of Indonesia,
Samsuridjal Djauzi, said that a person living with HIV/AIDS was
not required to show a poverty status card (kartu miskin) to
receive the subsidized ARV treatment.

He welcomed Kimia Farma's plan to produce ARV drugs locally,
and said the generic product was expected to boost access to
affordable HIV/AIDS treatment for people living with HIV/AIDS.

"There are about 130,000 people living with HIV/AIDS in
Indonesia at present. But only 1,000 of them have access to the
drugs they need," Samsuridjal said.

Indonesia has secured assistance from the Global Fund for
AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria (GFATM) to produce ARV drugs to
be administered to people living with HIV/AIDS in the country.