Organizations of the EECA region want to introduce the network experience
HIV-service organizations of the EECA region want to implement the experience of the All-Ukrainian Network of PLWH.
On February 16, 2018, in Almaty (Kazakhstan), the UNAIDS regional mission in Eastern Europe and Central Asia organized a meeting at which issues of reducing prices for ART drugs and laboratory supplies were discussed. International practices of implementing effective mechanisms to reduce prices by saving on logistics services were also studied. The Network presented a unique experience realized in Ukraine.
“We are proud that, thanks to the Network‘s efforts, Ukraine is the leader of the EECA region in budget advocacy and access to treatment,” said Dmytro Sherembey, the head of the Network of PLWH. “Our experience is an example of successful cooperation with the state which meets the wishes of patients.”
“The price of ART for HIV-positive patients in Ukraine is constantly decreasing,” underlined Serhiy Dmitriev, the Network’s policy and advocacy director. “The struggle of the Network with a patent monopoly, constant negotiations with pharmaceutical companies, changes in legislation, all this meticulous work and daily routine, brings tremendous results. We are glad that the experience of the Network is desirable and can be useful to our colleagues.”
We are reminded that due to the Network’s and partners’ advocacy efforts in Ukraine, since the middle of 2016, it has been possible to purchase generic versions of ARV drugs Tenofovir/Emtricitabine/Efavirenz, Abacavir and Abacavir/Lamivudine, which reduced prices for these drugs by 83%, 59% and 56% respectively. These activities provided an annual savings of up to $13.9 million. Successful pre grant patent opposition to the direct-acting drug for the treatment of hepatitis C, Sofosbuvir, filed by the Network and subsequent temporary competition for Sofosbuvir (INN) may have also prompted an originator to add Ukraine to the voluntary license for Sofosbuvir, which will result in at least 77% price reduction this year.
