Abstract
AIDS activists in South Africa have applied to the drug regulatory authority for special exemption to allow the use of a generic version of fluconazole as a matter of urgency although it is not registered in the country. Diflucan (fluconazole) used to treat cryptococcal meningitis and fungal infections associated with HIV is protected by patent in South Africa so generic manufacturing is not allowed and the company Pfizer is able to set its own price. This so-called Section 21 application follows the Treatment Action Campaigns (TAC) high-profile smuggling of 3000 tablets of “generic” fluconazole (Biozole tablets) from Biolab Company in Thailand. According to TAC Chairman Zackie Achmat the illegal importation of the drug was part of the defiance campaign against “patent abuse and AIDS profiteering” by multinational pharmaceutical companies. Meanwhile South African Health Minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang has released the countrys first published guidelines on the treatment of HIV and AIDS for health care workers. However the guidelines received many criticisms for failing to mention antiretroviral treatment for mother-to-child transmission.
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