Most Pharmaceutical Companies Receive Poor Grades on HIV/AIDS Drug Development Innovation,...

Most Pharmaceutical Companies Receive Poor Grades on HIV/AIDS Drug Development
Innovation, According to AIDS Treatment Activist Coalition Report Card
Many Companies Get Low Marks in Five Benchmark Treatment Categories; New Drugs
Need to Reflect Long-Term Care Strategy

NEW YORK, Sept. 10 /PRNewswire/ -- With the estimated 1.2 million people with
HIV/AIDS in the United States expected to live close to a normal life span,
the majority of pharmaceutical companies are not developing innovative, new
long-term treatment options that offer improved efficacy, safety and
tolerability when taken for decades, according to a report card on the
pharmaceutical industry released today by the AIDS Treatment Activists
Coalition's (ATAC) Drug Development Committee. ATAC, www.atac-usa.org, is a
national non-profit AIDS advocacy group working to end the AIDS epidemic by
advancing research of HIV/AIDS.

The ATAC Pharmaceutical Company HIV/AIDS Report Card ranks the nine largest
pharmaceutical companies (Abbott Laboratories, Boehringer Ingelheim,
Bristol-Myers Squibb, Gilead Sciences, GlaxoSmithKline, Hoffman La Roche,
Merck & Co., Pfizer and Tibotec) with HIV/AIDS drugs on the market in five
categories: drug development portfolio and plans, access to drugs, pricing,
community relations and marketing practices. The average final grade was a
C-: Abbott Laboratories received the lowest grade, an F, and Merck & Co. and
Tibotec each received the highest grade, a B. The companies were issued a
letter grade from A-F for each of the five categories as well as a final grade
average. To view the companies' grades, view
http://atac-usa.org/assets/docs/atacreportcard.png.

ATAC gave most companies low marks in five benchmark treatment categories:
-- Drug Development and Plans: The pipeline is shrinking, investment is
falling, and in some cases, cooperation with the community has been
diminishing. This adds up to fewer truly innovative new drugs and the
possibility that clinical trials could be less safe or less likely to
get relevant information.

-- Access to Treatment: With fewer drugs in the pipeline that will be
useful for people who have already used existing treatments, early
access to potentially life-saving treatment is a growing concern.

-- Pricing: HIV/AIDS drugs are among the most highly priced on the
market,
and price increases taken by most companies have been at least double
the rate of inflation. This means fewer low income people can be
accepted into government programs, and most people with HIV are paying
higher insurance co-payments.

-- Community Relations: Many companies are less willing to seek
independent
input from the U.S. HIV/AIDS community regarding research and trials,
particularly in the early stages of the drug development process.
This
is putting trial participants at a greater risk for illness and
treatment failure.

-- Marketing Practices: Negative or misleading advertising has serious
consequences for people with HIV/AIDS; potentially causing alarm if
they
are taking competing drugs, or stoppage of a current regimen before
consulting with their provider. Some companies have sometimes
overstated efficacy, safety, or are marketing drugs for non-approved
uses.

To view the full report card, executive summary, criteria for scoring, and
backgrounder with current statistics on the state of the HIV/AIDS epidemic,
visit http://www.atac-usa.org/atac-pharmaceutical-report-card.html.

About the AIDS Treatment Activists Coalition (ATAC)
The AIDS Treatment Activists Coalition (ATAC) is a national non-profit AIDS
advocacy group working to end the AIDS epidemic by advancing research of
HIV/AIDS. The organization brings together people with HIV/AIDS, government,
industry and academia in matters affecting research, treatment and access.
ATAC receives support from the pharmaceutical industry, on which it reports,
and private donors. For more information, visit www.atac-usa.org.

SOURCE AIDS Treatment Activists Coalition

Kim Novino of Bridgeman Communications for AIDS Treatment Activists Coalition,
+1-617-742-7270, kim@bridgeman.com