You will now pay less for original antibiotics

Pharmaceutical firm GlaxoSmithKline has announced a price reduction on two of its key antibiotics, across East Africa.

Augmentin and Zinnat will get a price slash of 40 per cent and 30 per cent respectively.

Because the drugs are patented, GSK holds exclusive global rights to manufacture and sell them for 15 years and no other company can formulate a similar product.

“The reductions will affect only the oral formulation of the antibiotics, and we hope the move will help to reduce the high rate of bacterial infections in the region,” said GSK managing director John Musunga.

Though the company insists the move is aimed at improving healthcare in developing countries, industry insiders think otherwise.
Generic antibacterials have been giving the firm a run for its money.

The price reduction, they allege is as a result of activist pressure, emergence of competition from generic manufacturers and direct negotiation with pharmaceutical companies over the past decade.

The principal reason for the relatively low price of generic medicines is that competition increases among producers when drugs are no longer protected by patents. Companies incur fewer costs in creating the generic drugs, and are, therefore, able to maintain profitability at a lower cost to consumers.

According Kenya’s deputy chief pharmacists, Fred Siyoyi, only 25 per cent of Kenyans have access to patented drugs. The government is pushing for 75 per cent price reduction on these drugs. Though high quality patented drugs are available, their accessibility is limited, he noted. “Prices of patented drugs are still high compared to their generic counterparts,” Dr Siyoyi said.

The first initiative by GSK was in April last year, when the company slashed the cost of its patented medicines in the region by more than half, with price cuts ranging from 57 to 78 per cent.

The company also attributed the growth in sales to the expansion in the gross domestic product as the spending power of consumers increases, and the launch of new medical products.

Infectious diseases caused by bacteria, viruses, fungi and other parasites are major causes of death, disability and social and economic disruption for millions people in sub Saharan Africa, which accounts for nearly half of the deaths caused by infectious diseases.

Of the seven biggest killers worldwide, TB, malaria, hepatitis and HIV/Aids continue to surge, with HIV/Aids and TB likely to account for the majority of deaths from infectious diseases in developing countries by 2020, according to the Africa Policy E-journal.

The adverse impact of infectious diseases is most severe among the poorest people, who have limited or no access to health care.