AIDS conference: US group strikes back against copycat drugs makers

0 Comments | AFP, July, 2004

BANGKOK (AFP) — A little-known US group headed by an advisor to President George W. Bush attacked copycat drugs makers at the world AIDS forum, accusing them of exaggerating claims about the costs, safety and effectiveness of their products.

The broadside, aimed at the role of cheap "generic" drugs that are now playing a central role in the AIDS war, was delivered in a full-page advertisement in the daily Bangkok Post as the International AIDS Conference here began its first day of work.

"Beware of the hype," the ad was headlined. "HIV patients worldwide deserve safe, effective and abundant treatment options -- not false hope and false medicine."

Generic drugs manufacturers copy patented antiretroviral treatments and sell them at prices below those set by...