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The
United States approves generic AIDS drugs
Finally,
after much ado, the United States health
authorities have decided to approve anti-retroviral
drugs. These drugs should have been available
long ago to prevent AIDS from spreading
further. The government currently will not
pay for the drugs, which must be taken over
a 28-day period, according to BBC News.
Not
allowing people who have possibly been infected
to take a preventative drug is immoral,
especially since health care workers are
allowed to take the drug upon possible interaction
with the virus. It has taken a long time
for authorities to approve this decision,
and many lives could have been saved with
these drugs. The drugs are now legally available
to those at risk of infection from rape,
drug use or unprotected sex. Approximately
40,000 new cases of HIV are reported each
year, according to the Centers for Disease
Control.
According
to BBC News, these drugs can prevent the
development of HIV if they are taken within
72 hours of exposure. The United States
previously allowed only health care workers
to use these preventative anti-retroviral
drugs in the event that they may have been
exposed to the virus. The pill combination
must be taken for four weeks to be effective.
This policy has changed, finally, to benefit
American citizens.
The
U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
approved a generic version of the most common
AIDS drug cocktail. Moving the drug out
of the hands of private corporations is
a good move for the FDA. This could have
been a reaction to the criticism that the
Bush administration was refusing to allow
the sales of drugs that had not been reviewed
by the FDA in an effort to force sales of
drugs manufactured by United States companies.
President
George W. Bush's Emergency Plan for AIDS
relief has allotted $15 billion to support
the project. This money can now be used
to buy cheaper AIDS prevention drugs and
help those who have already been infected
with the HIV or AIDS virus. This decision
marks the first time a generic AIDS product
has been approved by the administration.
Of particular interest is that the drugs
are to be purchased from a foreign company,
namely Aspen Pharmacare of South Africa.
Aspen
Pharmacare has combined a generic version
of two pills — one created by GlaxoSmithKline
PLC, of the United Kingdom, and the other
manufactured by Boehringer Ingelheim GmbH
of Germany, both of which licensed Aspen
to create this generic combination.
This
new combination will help those in Africa
and the United States in battling AIDS.
Being able to prevent HIV from infecting
people who were exposed through rape is
a huge step for the United States. It is
especially worthy that the recent rules
will allow preventative steps to be taken
by drug users and those who did not practice
safe sex and may have been exposed as a
result. People can start to take some action
to prevent disease after a lapse in judgment.
The United States currently offers no pill
combinations from different companies. The
problem is that in the United States, both
components of the Aspen pill are under patent
protection.
The
United States is now beginning to step up
to the challenge of health care in this
country, providing a method to prevent AIDS
and HIV. There are still kinks in the plan
but surely the FDA can iron those out and
help American citizens to live better, healthier
lives.
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