Discuss the Reasons Why the Research and Development of Anti-Retroviral Drugs (Arvs) Has Impacted Differently on People Suffering from Hiv/Aids in Developed and Developing World

With the level of technology at where it is today there are many risks involved with many treatments. What the companies tend to do is advertise products and try to make the risks seem small. Every time you watch TV nowadays there is a commercial on there about a treatment that has

If a person find out that they are infected with HIV, treatment can slow down the progress of the virus There is no cure for HIV or AIDS. However, there are medicines that fight HIV and help people with HIV and AIDS live longer, healthier lives. Starting treatment early can mean the best health for you and a longer time before you develop AIDS or other infections. Unfortunately, most people do not find out they have HIV until the disease is at advanced stages. This limits the treatment options.

(Patton 47) AIDs is a very complex retrovirus that replicates in an individual’s DNA. It becomes a part of the genetic code and houses itself in a cell, primarily the T-4 cell. (Patton 47) It is not a living organism like bacteria or a parasite so it is incurable and cannot be treated by using antibiotics like other sexual transmitted infections (STIs) like Syphilis or Gonorrhea. A virus cannot be cured, so doctors treat HIV infected individuals with immune suppression to keep the virus from spreading throughout the body. Drugs created in the 21st century such as Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PReP) protect individuals who practice high-risk behavior or have a dangerously low functioning immune system from getting the virus. Research in the 1980s was very scarce and underfunded for AIDs medicines however.

Background: Americans pay the highest prices for prescription drugs in the world. Drug costs increased 12.6 percent last year, more than double the rise in overall medical costs. A new Kaiser Health poll shows that most Americans think prescription drug costs in this country are unreasonable, and that drug companies put profits before people.1 Take the example of albendazole which is broad spectrum anti-parasitic drug. In late 2010, the listed average wholesale price for albendazole was $5.92 per typical daily dose in the United States and less than $1 per typical daily dose overseas. By 2013, the listed typical daily dose price for USA market had increased to $119.58. Medicaid data show that spending on albendazole increased from less than $100,000 per year in 2008, when the average cost was $36.10 per prescription, to more than $7.5 million in 2013, when the average cost was $241.30 per prescription2. Albendazole is a very basic medicine but if we take the case of oncology medicines we are going to realize that oncology drugs have become synonymous with extremely high cost. The average cancer drug price for approximately 1 year of therapy was less than 10,000 per year in 2010 and had increased to $30,000 to $50,000 by 2005. In 2012, 12 of the 13 new drugs approved for cancer indications were priced above $100,000 per year of therapy. With typical out-of-pocket expenses of 20% to 30%, the financial burden would be $20,000 to 30,000 a year, nearly half of the average annual

For many types of cancers, we have been using the same base drug (first line treatment) for ten years or even longer. As companies find new drugs to fight the cancers, they hope that it will be the miracle drug that will eradicate the cancer, but it usually isn’t. When they reach this conclusion, instead of returning to the chalkboard and continuing to work to improve the drug, they put the drug on the market as is, and hope it will achieve something. Not only are they putting these drugs on the market but they put price tags on them that would bankrupt anyone without some sort of third party payer. The combination of all of these drugs make up what doctors

because it has been ineffective, the adverse side effect and increase in cost. Also, they are

Treatment for HIV is just to control the disease. They use a combination of drug therapies known as cocktails. This way when the virus figures out how to get around one there is another drug to block it from duplicating itself.

Why focus on treatment instead of finding a cure? It is simple; there is in profit in finding a cure for cancer. Desperate and eager to live, the typical cancer patient spends about $50,000 fighting the disease. Chemotherapy drugs are among the most expensive of all treatments, many ranging from $3,000 to $7,000 for a one-month supply. If the cancer industry allows a cure, then their patient base goes away (Dr. Mercola, D. (2011, January 1). Cancer: Forbidden Cures | Natural Cancer Treatment. Retrieved February 26, 2015, from http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2013/08/03/natural-cancer-treatment.aspx.) It makes more

According to the Nhs (2012) in the early stages most people infected with HIV experience a short period of flu like symptoms two to six weeks after infection. stages 2 and 3, if left untreated, it will weaken ability to fight infection so much that you become vulnerable to serious illnesses and may only live for 3 years, this stage of infection is known as AIDS. At this stage the person infected will experience nightsweats, lack of motivation, persistantant tiredness, significant weight loss, diarrhoea, shortness of breath, swollen glands and a fever over 37 degrees that last weeks, it is shown once aids has taken over your body at this stage you have an increased risk of developing and catching life-threatening illnesses. According to aidsmap and the NHS (2012 ) the average life expectancy for people who are HIV positive in the UK is 60. According to the NHS (2012) there is medication to treat HIV, but there is no cure. The medication taken is Antiretroviral drugs (appendix ). According to the BBC news 1st December 2012) it estimated In 2011, there were 2.5 million new infections - down 700,000 from the 2001 figure - and an estimated 1.7 million people died from Aids-related illnesses. That was 600,000 fewer than in 2005. each year treatment costs for someone diagnosed with HIV is £320,000, Or £1.2bn over their lifetimes. Therefore this shows physically people are living longer and

A lot of people can’t afford treatment. When you can't afford it 600,920 people die from cancer each year. Even if you have health insurance it will not cover the cost of treatment. According to cancer.org “the Agency for Healthcare research and Quality (AHRQ) estimates that the direct medical costs (total of all health care costs) for cancer in the US in 2014 were $87.8 billion” This source means that the treatment total for 2014 was $87.8 billion dollars. (“Questions about”)

Merck & Co., Inc. was faced with quite the dilemma as whether to develop a drug discovered by Dr. William C. Campbell’s theories on curing river blindness. River blindness is a common disease afflicting settlements located close to fast-moving rivers in third world countries. The largest concern with starting a new research on the drug called “Ivermectin” was that millions would be put into research, but little chance of the drug offering a financial return. The reasoning is that those in third world countries could not afford the drug and this is where Merck has to decide whether to invest in research and develop the drug. I understand the dilemma Merck is faced with, but as someone on the outside without full understanding of pharmaceutical companies, I question is it possible for them to provide a needed drug at affordable pricing for third world countries. They already have a similar drug established and more research is needed for human use, but they have to be able to find a benefactor whom is willing to contribute to this

In this case study I was asked six question the first one was,Do pharmaceutical companies have a responsibility to distribute drugs for free or at low cost in developing countries? What are the main arguments for and against such an approach?

“Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a blood-borne virus typically transmitted via sexual intercourse, shared intravenous drug paraphernalia, and mother-to-child transmission (MTCT), which can occur during the birth processor during breastfeeding.” There is no cure for HIV or AIDS but over time different types of medications have been developed that slows down the advancement of the disease. AIDS is a lethal disease that is caused by HIV. HIV destroys the immune system and causes the body to not be able to fight off any diseases.

Currently, there are no vaccines and no cures for HIV or AIDS, although scientists are researching and finding new drugs and treatments. So far, scientists have discovered a variety of drugs and medication that can be used to control and slow the virus and the progression of the disease. There are some drugs which interfere with the virus ability to make copies of itself by disabling a protein it needs, like Non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors. If someone is diagnosed with HIV, it is important to start with treatments as soon as possible.

There can be one or more mutations that might block the working of the ARVS making them less effected or even completely ineffective. i.e. the virus will become resistant to any of the drugs and multiply. (Jen Gorgan and Ruth Suter;2009)