HIV/AIDS drug contract

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Duopharma Biotech Bhd expects to ink a two-year contract with the Health Ministry likely in August to supply drugs for HIV/AIDS patients, said its managing director Chia Ting Poh.
“We were called by the ministry for a price negotiation and we believe the contract will likely be officially signed by August,” he told FinancialDaily after the company’s AGM in Klang on June 29.
The contract, which may be renewable every two years, will allow Duopharma to supply SLN 30 and SLN 40 tablets, which are three-in-one fixed dose combination (FDC) anti-retroviral drugs, to government, teaching and army hospitals and city halls across the nation.
The new FDC, a life-prolonging drug recommended by the World Health Organisation, will be the first to be introduced in Malaysia.
According to Duopharma’s 2004 annual report, the government intends to fully subsidise the new drug at an estimated cost of between RM15 million and RM26 million, which it says is only 20% of existing treatment costs.
Chia said Duopharma would have exclusive patent rights for SLN 30 and SLN 40, which were waived by UK-based pharmaceutical research firm GlaxoSmithKline.
Chia said the costs to treat an HIV/AIDS patient would be reduced by 80% to RM2,000 per year from RM10,000 per year. Based on official figures, there are 60,000 HIV/AIDS patients in the country with almost 20 new cases reported daily.
HIV/AIDS patients are now paying RM3,000 per year for medication with the remaining RM7,000 subsidised by the government.
“With the government’s intention to fully subsidise the drug, it will encourage more patients to come forward for treatment,” Chia added.
Duopharma is also working closely with the ministry on a pilot project expected to begin by September on the usage of Methadone to cure drug addiction. The government estimates there are 300,000 addicts but unreported cases could be more than that.
“For every one known addict, there are four unknown addicts. The pilot project was initially targeted for six months but it is now indefinite,” Chia said, adding that the pilot project would initially involve 1,300 patients.
“It’s the question of how fast the government can mobilise. There is meticulous paperwork, ensuring appropriate controls are monitored, and doctors are adequately trained to handle the drug,” he said.
He said the government was formulating new guidelines. “The old strategy of criminalising drug addicts and putting them in detention centres is not useful and is costly.” He said private sales of Methadone to general practitioners had increased.