Jul 17, 2008 12:53 pm US/Central
Bill Clinton Aims To Stabilize Malaria Drug Prices
NEW YORK (AP) ―
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Bill Clinton departs from Downing Street on June 26, 2008, in London.
Daniel Berehulak/Getty Images
Former President Clinton's foundation has signed pricing agreements with several suppliers involved in making a malaria-fighting drug in an effort to stabilize the medication's fluctuating costs and ensure more dependable availability.
In 2002, the former president established an HIV/AIDS initiative that sought to negotiate lower prices for antiretroviral treatments, and he since has expanded his focus to include malaria treatments such as artemisinin-based combination therapies, or ACTs.
Artemisinin is an extract of the plant known as wormwood or sagewort.
One of the factors making the price of artemisinin so volatile -- fluctuating from $155/kilo to $1,100/kilo in recent years -- has been a wildly erratic cycle of shortage and excess of the extract, Clinton said Thursday at a news conference.
"Today the supply as well as the demand have led to these dramatic fluctuations in prices," Clinton said, holding up a green clipping of the plant. "Our goal, among other things, is to make sure that this little plant is available in sufficient supply, and that over time we can rationalize the prices."
The drug makers and the United Nations Special Envoy on Malaria joined Clinton for the announcement at his foundation's Manhattan headquarters.
Clinton said he has negotiated with six suppliers involved in producing ACTs that have agreed to certain price ceilings that the foundation says will help keep prices constant and not so dependent on the fluctuating cycles.
The agreements are with two suppliers at three levels of the supply chain -- raw material, processing and final formulation -- and the foundation hopes to add more suppliers.
Each year some 500 million people are sickened by malaria, and more than 1 million die from the infectious disease, which is spread by mosquito bites and whose symptoms include fever, chills, nausea and shortness of breath.
Besides benefiting from a more stable market, the suppliers that join the Clinton effort also get business and marketing assistance from the foundation.
(© 2009 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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