Bill Clinton and Drug Companies Announce Pact on AIDS Treatment Discounts
August 7, 2009 | Read Time: 1 minute
Bill Clinton and the pharmaceutical firms Pfizer and Matrix Laboratories announced a deal Thursday to cut treatment costs for HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis in the developing world, reports Reuters.
Speaking at the William J. Clinton Foundation headquarters in Manhattan, the former president said the agreement will make antiretroviral therapies cheaper and more convenient for hundreds of thousands of patients with drug-resistant forms of HIV/AIDS.
Matrix will offer discounts on four HIV/AIDS drugs, while Pfizer will do the same for the tuberculosis medication rifabutin. TB is a leading cause of death for those with HIV/AIDS, Mr. Clinton said.
