Treating Aids- The Global Ethical Dilema

2 Pages 474 Words

Treating AIDS—The Global Ethical Dilemma

Statistics show that ninety percent of the world’s 33 million HIV/AIDS cases are in Africa, Latin America, and Asia. These areas are known to be much more deficient and therefore can not afford the drug to help fight AIDS. The quandary for the drug companies is how to make these drugs more inexpensive. These drugs are very much needed. 8 percent of the 38 million people in South Africa are infected with the AIDS virus.
Western drug companies face issues of social responsibility in both short and long terms. Their short term responsibility is to deal with the pressure they are receiving from health organizations around the world, global competition, compassion for those unfortunate that can’t be treated, and to maintain a benevolent image. The long term responsibility the industry is faced with is maintaining sufficient revenue to support the goal of developing a cure for AIDS and other diseases. Along with getting the drug to everyone in need, the pharmaceutical industry is fighting to protect the patents on their drugs. Large companies are in business to invest numerous amounts of money to develop drugs. Patents protect the companies from generic copies. Without patents, businesses feel they would not survive. This would be a crisis for world health. This leaves us with the overall problem of who should pay for AIDS drugs around the world?
In 1997, the South African government passed a law securing cheaper drugs for its people by allowing local companies to copy patented drugs. It also allowed the AIDS drug to be imported from other countries. By May 2000, five major companies offered to sell the AIDS drug at reduced prices to developing countries, although, various groups pressure the drug companies to reduce their prices even lower for poor countries. An Indian company, Cipla Ltd., announced in February 2001 that it would provide its generic version of the triple...