The Fourth World Community Advisory Board (World CAB4) meeting

In April 2008, twenty-five treatment activists from 18 countries met in Delhi, India, with representatives of three Indian manufacturers of generic antiretroviral (ARV) drugs. The Indian generic drug industry is a major supplier of affordable ARVs to treatment programs in Africa, and their impact has facilitated placing nearly two million people on lifesaving treatment. Aurobindo and Matrix are both producers of bulk quantities of ARVs and are relatively new to the production of finished formulations. Ranbaxy does not manufacture bulk drugs, but rather purchases bulk supply from Matrix and produces a wide range of individual and combination drug tablets. Despite the success with the current drug regimen, international treatment guidelines are now calling for a switch to newer, safer drugs. But these drugs, such as Tenofovir and Efavirenz, are more costly to make and deliver.

The activists of the International Treatment Preparedness Coalition’s World Community Advisory Board (ITPC’s World CAB) were keen to understand how the generic drug makers were planning to respond to the need for more affordable second-line drugs.

As far as the organisation of the meeting is concerned, World CAB 4 was divided into two sessions. The first session focused on capacity development and training of PLHIV leaders and treatment advocates on second-line ARV access. This involved learning about the drugs and factors that influence access to these agents, including trade, health and local drug pricing.

The second session of World CAB4 was a meeting with generic pharmaceutical companies. The key discussion was about the role of generic drugs in expanding and sustaining AIDS treatment over the long-term and threats to generic drug access.
A full World CAB 4 report will be made available soon.