Health
Full Cost of HIV-AIDS Treatment Study
During the World Health Assembly meetings in Geneva in May, the Hudson Institute's Center for Science in Public Policy released its second study (24 pages, PDF) on the full cost of HIV/AIDS treatment. Among other things, the study found that of the eighteen most commonly used anti-retroviral drugs, patented drugs are generally less expensive, or fall well within the price range of, their generic counterparts. The study also suggests that government policies, such as taxes and tariffs, and health-system capacity problems continue to complicate the delivery of all HIV/AIDS drugs, and that the rise in the use of sub-standard and counterfeit medicines is becoming a significant hindrance to providing effective treatment to patients in developing countries. The center's first study, Myths and Realities on the Prices of AIDS Drugs (8 pages, PDF), was published in May 2004.
| 
