south africa: watchdog rules 2 drug giants inflated prices

CDC HIV/AIDS/Viral Hepatitis/STD/TB Prevention News Update South Africa: Watchdog Rules 2 Drug Giants Inflated Prices Agence France Presse
October 20, 2003

New York Times (10.18.03) - Monday, October 20, 2003 The Competition Commission, South Africa's independent competition monitor, recommended that Britain's GlaxoSmithKline and Germany's Boehringer Ingelheim be fined 10 percent of their annual sales in South Africa after finding they were guilty of charging excessively high prices for their AIDS drugs. The commission also said the companies refused licenses to generic drug competitors. The ruling followed complaints from groups including the Los Angeles-based AIDS Healthcare Foundation and South Africa's Treatment Action Campaign, which had urged the South African government to make AIDS therapies accessible. A GlaxoSmithKline spokesperson said the company was "in negotiations with the complainants," and that the commission's announcement was premature. Boehringer Ingelheim made a similar statement to the South African Press Association.

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