AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF), the largest provider of HIV/AIDS healthcare, education and prevention and operator of free AIDS treatment clinics in the US, Africa, Latin America/Caribbean and the Asia/Pacific Region, lauds the Clinton Foundation's announcement of landmark drug-pricing negotiations with generic manufacturers Cipla and Matrix. AHF welcomes this development, which moves us closer to achieving universal access to lifesaving drugs. "AHF has petitioned the generic companies, particularly Cipla, to lower their prices to the level that allows governments and NGOs to treat as many people as possible. Up until today's announcement, second-line drugs were priced so high that they were unattainable to most in need. AHF congratulates President Clinton and his team on this significant achievement," said Michael Weinstein, President, AIDS Healthcare Foundation. "We are anxious to utilize these new drug prices to expand our global treatment services in the 15 countries we currently operate and beyond. We also welcome a collaborative relationship with the Clinton Foundation to achieve our common goal -- savings lives," added Weinstein.

"We hope that this new deal will serve as a catalyst to embolden governments to negotiate their own price reductions for lifesaving AIDS drugs," said Terri Ford, AHF's Director of Global Advocacy." Bringing drug prices down in middle-income countries, in particular, has been a major focus of our advocacy at AHF. Mexico is a prime example of a country whose people are poor, yet whose drug prices are exorbitantly high, making them out of reach. The recent bold actions by the governments of Thailand and Brazil in issuing compulsory licenses for AIDS drugs sent a message to the branded pharmaceutical industry that unaffordable pricing in developing countries will no longer be tolerated. With the generic companies taking the lead in offering lower priced medicines, there is mounting pressure on the branded companies to abandon their profit-maximizing strategies in developing countries and set prices at levels that will facilitate access," added Ford. "We congratulate the Clinton Foundation for the success in their efforts."