PHARMACEUTICAL COMPANIES’ AGENCIES IN LATVIA ARE LOWERING HIV MEDICATION PRICES
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01.03.2009

We have been discussing this issue by giving concrete numbers both at the (the Ministry of Health, Pharmaceutical Companies Association, Patient organizations) the members annual general meeting Trilateral Memorandum; at the Pharmaceutical Consultative Council; at Coordination Commission of Limiting Spread of HIV, TB and STD Infections, as well as in personal conversations with the Ministry of Health officials of different ranks. 
In this issue we have been heard by the World Health Organization (WHO) and United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) representatives in Latvia.
Irrespectively of the initially negative attitude shown from the head of the Coordination Commission (at the September, 2008 meeting), in the next Commission meeting in 2009, WHO and UNODC proposal to do investigation and analysis of this particular situation (and other complex issues – medical treatment schemes and accessibility etc.) was accepted. The Ministry of Health also acknowledged the investigation of this issue to be important and invited all the institutions involved to provide the international experts with objective information.
At this point, the technical task for the experts has been approved and it stipulates that the following associations are actively involved in the investigation process of the situation: Society AGIHAS, Society Association HIV.LV and Society DIA+LOGS.
It also has to be noted that the HIV medication purchasing budget for Year 2009 was noticeably minimized (from 2 513 514 LVL in Year 2008 to 2 160 000 LVL for Year 2009),  in fact, the minimization is even greater, taking into account the increase of the Value Added Tax (VAT) which this year increased from 5%  to 10 %. In the same way, the situation is even more complicated by the wholesale companies’ refusal to supply two cheap first choice medications for the initial Contract prices, because of the rapid rise in USA dollar exchange rate.
Under these circumstances, patients who receive HAART medication and whose medical treatment has been already started were under real threat, not to mention the new patients who need to start receiving medical treatment and whose condition is critical. (From 01.02.2009 The Latvian Infectology Centre provided medical treatment for 334 patients, even though twice as many infected patients are in need of it!)
Understanding the seriousness of the situation, as well as in order to care for the prestige reputation of the enterprise, company’s GlaxoSmithKline agency in Latvia in January of 2009 informed that they are reducing the retail price for the first choice medication Combivir by 43%.
Pharmaceutical Company Roche agency in Latvia also revised their HIV medication prices. In March of this Year Roche informed, that they are lowering the price for Invirase medicine by 10 %. It is possible that the letter sent by Association AGIHAS to all HIV medication manufacturing companies quickened this decision.
We will carefully follow up if this lowering of prices will allow LIC specialists to begin HAART medical care for new AIDS patients, whose situation is critical and who are entitled to the State guaranteed medical care.
In fact, all HIV medication prices could be lowered by 33 %, if parallel import and a direct medication supply without the help of mediator wholesale traders would be permitted.