The Medicine Sans Frontiers (MSF, Doctors Without Border) on Thursday accused brand companies of not selling their newer AIDS drugs and formulations of existing drugs in Africa even though they are urgently needed.

At the ongoing International Conference on AIDS and Sexually Transmitted Infections in Africa (ICASA) in Abuja, Nigeria, the World Health Organization (WHO) laid out new HIV/AIDS treatment guidelines, but several drugs included were unavailable in Africa, the MSF lamented.

In a statement issued here, the MSF listed one of the drugs as antiretroviral medicine lopinavir/ritornavir, marketed by Abbott, a US pharmaceutical firm, as Kaletra.

It said that although the new version, which did not require refrigeration, would be very useful in most African settings, it was not available on the world's poorest continent.

"To date Abbott has not communicated any plans to market this new drug here or in other countries in Africa," the statement quoted Philomena Orji, MSF Nigeria pharmacist, as saying.

"Considering the hot temperatures and constant blackouts in Lagos (Nigeria's commercial capital), this new formulation could really make a critical difference."

The new WHO guidelines added tenofovir to the list of recommended drugs. The statement said that tenofovir has significant less side effects than some older treatments but is also not available in Africa.

It said that Gilead, the company that markets the drug claims that it is available at a discounted price in 98 countries, but according to the WHO the company has only managed to register the drug in six developing countries.

"Although Gilead first announced a lower price for some developing countries in April 2003, in South Africa the registration process was not properly submitted until September 2005," the statement said.

This week, access to affordable sources of new medicines was further restricted by WTO decision to establish complex procedures for exporting generic versions of patented drugs, it said.

The statement said that MSF currently provided antiretroviral treatment to over 57,000 people living with HIV/AIDS in 29 countries. In Nigeria, MSF was treating more than 950 patients with the treatment in a comprehensive care clinic in Lagos.

Source: Xinhua