Abbott to cut AIDS drug price amid patent row

CHICAGO, April 10 (Reuters) - Abbott Laboratories Inc. (ABT.N), under fire for aggressive pricing of its AIDS medications in poor countries, said on Tuesday it would slash the price of a key AIDS drug by more than half.

Abbott said it would offer low and middle income governments its drug Kaletra for $1,000 per patient per year, lower than generic versions of the drug. The move is an apparent attempt to cool tensions with the government of Thailand over AIDS drug pricing.

The World Health Organization applauded the move by the suburban Chicago-based drugmaker. Kaletra is an especially effective in patients who have become resistant to other AIDS drugs.

Several weeks ago, Abbott vowed to stop launching new drugs in Thailand to protest that government's move to override international drug patents. That decision by the army-backed Thai government would allow other drugmakers in effect to violate patents on Kaletra by launching cheaper generic copies.

That dispute is still ongoing, and the company said it maintains its stance of refusing to offer a newer form of Kaletra called Aluvia in Thailand. AIDS activists widely criticized that policy, because Aluvia is a heat-stable form of Kaletra, eliminating the need for costly cold storage.

Abbott has been under fire for years for its AIDS drugs pricing. In 2003, it raised the price of another AIDS medication called Norvir by 400 percent, sparking protests including at its annual meeting.

((Reporting by Kim Dixon, editing by Steve Orlofsky; Reuters Messaging; kim.dixon.reuters.com@reuters.net; email; kim.dixon@reuters.com, 1-312 408 8561)) Keywords: ABBOTT AIDS/

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