Bill Clinton Foundation announced new agreements with generic drug manufacturers, Cipla and Matrix, with significant reduction in prices of second-line anti-retroviral drugs (ARVs) and once-a-day pill treatments which are currently cost prohibitive in the developing world. These agreements should lower the prices for 16 ARVs, which will be available to 66 developing countries in Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean through the Clinton Foundation's Procurement Consortium.

"Seven million people in the developing world are in need of treatment for HIV/AIDS," said former president Clinton. "We are trying to meet that need with the best medicine available today, and at prices that low and middle income countries can afford. I applaud Cipla and Matrix for their commitment to lower the cost of new drugs at the forefront of the fight against AIDS, and I thank Unitaid for the funds that have enabled us to make these drugs widely available."

The Clinton foundation negotiated new prices for second-line drugs that will generate an average savings of 25 per cent in low-income countries and 50 per cent in middle-income countries. Second-line treatment is required in patients who develop resistance to first-line treatment and currently costs 10 times the price of first-line therapy. Nearly a half million patients will require these drugs by 2010. These price reductions have been made possible by UNITAID, the international drug purchase facility established in 2006 by France, Brazil, Chile, Norway and the UK. Unitaid will provide the Clinton Foundation HIV/AIDS Initiative (CHAI) with more than $100 million to buy second-line medicines for 27 countries through 2008.

Citing the importance of keeping AIDS treatment affordable as patients increasingly turn to newer drugs for effective first and second line treatment, president Clinton also announced a reduced price for the "next generation" first-line treatment, a once-daily pill that combines the drugs tenofovir, lamivudine and efavirenz. The equivalent product in the US, was launched in July 2006, is widely perceived as a gold-standard treatment, as it offers greater convenience, fewer side effects, and improved treatment outcomes in comparison to the regimen used most commonly in developing countries. The new cost for this treatment of $339 per patient per year represents a 45 per cent reduction from the current rate available to low-income countries, including those in sub-Saharan Africa, and is a 67 per cent reduction from the price available to many middle income countries.

French foreign minister Philippe Douste-Blazy, chairman of the Unitaid board, added, "Every person living with HIV deserves access to the most effective medicines, and Unitaid aims to ensure that these are affordable for all developing countries. I am pleased that our partnership with president Clinton is lowering the price of second-line treatment, and that the new prices will be available to low and middle income countries alike."