| OCR Text |
Show THE UNIVERSITY OF UTAH CHARLES H. MONSON PRIZE WINNER medications to kill it. Therefore, fixed dose combination drugs ensure that all drugs are taken at the same time, and the risk of drug resistance is reduced. Furthermore, maintaining the proper drug regimen is essential in reducing the risk of opportunistic infections, by ensuring that proper levels of the drugs are kept in the patient's body. The manufacture of this fixed dose combination drug in India, and particularly its availability at a relatively low price, would have been impossible had TRIPS been in place. Therefore, this example demonstrates one manner in which TRIPS inhibits resource-limited countries' accessibility to cheap, innovative, and valuable medications. The Differences Between First- and Second-Line Drugs Yet another issue that complicates the situation of HIV/AIDS treatment and drug accessibility is the difference in drugs used to treat the infection. First-line drugs are the first drugs prescribed to combat the HIV/AIDS infection. These drugs are generally older, in that they were some of the first drugs developed that proved effective in slowing the rate of infection of the virus in the body. However, these drugs have high toxicity, often much higher than more recently developed drugs, and they frequently result in harsh physical side effects. Drug resistance, due to natural mutation of the virus or incorrect or irregular consumption of medications, m a y require a switch to different, more effective drugs (AFP, 2012). Fortunately, second-line drugs have been developed, which "are generally less toxic, easier to take and more effective at fighting HIV" (Avert). These drugs are invaluable when drug resistance does occur, or when a patient's body can no longer manage the toxicity levels of first-line drugs. Within just the 16 Francophone countries in Africa, approximately 10 percent of HIV/AIDS patients need to switch from first-line to second-line treatments each year (Chatterjee, 2011). Thus, the ability to access second-line drugs is crucial. Furthermore, many second-line drugs are either fixed dose combination drugs, beneficial for the reasons stated in the previous section, or heat-stable drugs. Many of the original, first-line HIV/AIDS drugs require refrigeration in order to remain efficacious. However, refrigeration is not widespread in sub-Saharan Africa, particularly in rural areas. Therefore, heat-stable drugs were developed in order to avoid the necessity of refrigeration, thus creating a more practical drug option for the great number of HIV/AIDS patients living without access to refrigeration. Because many first-line drugs were developed following the initial breakout of HIV/AIDS in the 1960s and 1970s, their patents have since expired. Therefore, many such drugs are now available in generic forms, and at m u c h lower prices that are more accessible for patients in low-income countries. O n the other hand, because second-line drugs have been developed much more recently, their prices are dramatically higher, as they are still under their original patent protection. It is undeniably beneficial that many first-line drugs are available at relatively cheap prices, to begin treatment for those infected with HIV/AIDS w h o could otherwise not afford these drugs. However, the quality, safety, and efficacy of second-line drugs are notably higher, and these drugs are particularly valuable w h e n considering the risk of drug resistance. Therefore, this becomes an issue, not only of general accessibility to drugs, but accessibility to drugs that are effective and safe for consumption. The Innovation of Patent Pools and Their Success Barring more widespread access to valuable second-line drugs, however, are stringent patent regulations. In spite of this fact, an inventive solution is emerging, with the aim of allowing more people to access HIV/AIDS drugs. Patent pools are an innovative idea, previously successful in other industries, for increasing accessibility to essential drugs, particularly those used to fight HIV/AIDS. A patent pool functions w h e n companies put their drugs' patents into a"pool,"after which select generic-drug producers can license the patents and manufacture 51 |
