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LONDON, Mar 20, 2001 (United Press International via COMTEX) -- Cuban President Fidel Castro said Monday that Cuba has developed its own AIDS drugs, and will join South Africa and Brazil in challenging U.S. patent laws to provide cheaper versions of the medications to AIDS victims.
The British Broadcasting Corp. reported that Castro confirmed his government is producing "those famous cocktails" of AIDS treatment drugs and has challenged multinational pharmaceutical companies to protest their manufacture.
The United States has in the past been accused of using patent law to leverage the sale of U.S. made drugs at Western prices to the rest of the world.
While patented treatments can cost an AIDS sufferer between $10,000 and $15,000 a year, "generic" versions can cost as little as $1 per day.
Last week, the European parliament called for the creation of patent law loopholes so that AIDS sufferers in developing countries -- particularly South Africa where AIDS cases are among the world's highest -- could afford cheaper versions of expensive brand-name drugs, BBC reported.
It also urged pharmaceutical companies to withdraw their court challenge to the 1997 South African law allowing its drug companies to produce affordable versions of popular AIDS drugs. Brazil is also producing affordable alternatives to treat tens of thousands of its AIDS suffers.
"We will fully support Brazil and South Africa, encouraging them to ignore U.S. patents and produce the drugs to save the millions of lives that can be saved," said Castro, the BBC reported.
Copyright 2001 by United Press International.
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