Merck & Co. announced a reduction in the price of its HIV/AIDS medicine, STOCRIN (efavirenz), in the least developed countries of the world and those hardest hit by the epidemic.
The price of the 600 mg formulation of STOCRIN has been reduced by 14.5 percent to US $0.65 per day, or US $237.25 per patient per year, from $0.76 per day, for purchasers in countries in the low category of the Human Development Index (HDI) and in medium HDI countries with an adult HIV prevalence of 1% or greater. In medium HDI countries with an adult HIV prevalence of less than 1%, the price of the 600 mg formulation of STOCRIN will be reduced by 5.8%, to US $1.80 per day, or US $657.00 per patient per year, from US $1.91 per day.
Merck is lowering the price of the 600 mg formulation of STOCRIN due to efficiencies resulting from improved manufacturing processes. This is the second time that the Company has reduced the price of this formulation in less than a year. The prices of other formulations of STOCRIN and Merck’s other HIV/AIDS medicine, CRIXIVAN (indinavir sulfate), remain unchanged.
“Merck has long been a leader in efforts to broaden access to our medicines for those who need them around the world,” said Merck Chief Executive Officer and President Richard T. Clark. “Today’s price reductions reflect our continuing commitment to improve the lives of people living with HIV/AIDS throughout the developing world.”
As a result of Merck’s differential pricing policy, at the end of 2006 some 500,000 patients in 76 developing countries were being treated with antiretroviral regimens containing STOCRIN and CRIXIVAN.