WHAT a powerful combination market forces and a little sustained moral
pressure from charities can be. In the space of just a few months, several
multinational drugs companies have struck deals with African countries to slash
the prices of their AIDS drugs. Antiviral cocktails that in rich countries cost
more than $30 a day per person are now down to just a few dollars in some
African countries, and with luck (and more pressure) will fall further still.
This is welcome news, but no reason to pat the pharmaceuticals industry on the
back. They are only cutting prices to avert…
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