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STATE AIDS DIRECTORS, PHARMACEUTICAL COMPANIES JOIN IN $50 MILLION PLAN TO
ASSIST ADAPs
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press release from
NASTAD
NATIONAL ALLIANCE OF STATE AND TERRITORIAL AIDS DIRECTORS
444 N. Capitol Street, NW #339 Washington, DC 20001-1512 FAX 202-434-8092
PHONE 202-434-8090 WEB www.nastad.org
For immediate release: For further information contact:
July 9, 2003 Murray Penner at (202) 434-8090
The National Alliance of State and Territorial AIDS Directors (NASTAD)
announced today that it has increased to seven the number of pharmaceutical
companies agreeing to partner with the ADAP Crisis Task Force to increase
financial
assistance for the federal-state AIDS Drug Assistance Programs (ADAPs). "This
has been a challenging three months and we are pleased with the outcome,"
noted
NASTAD Executive Director Julie Scofield. "Our ADAP Crisis Task Force has
found a way to partner with all but one of the country's HIV antiretroviral
manufacturers. Industry and the states have come together in a life-saving
partnership."
Pulled together to address increasing restrictions within the state ADAP
programs, the Task Force conducted a weeklong set of initial meetings in late
March. "At the time, we were faced with 13 states that had implemented
waiting lists and many more actively considering formulary and eligibility
restrictions," noted California
AIDS Director Michael Montgomery. "We needed to begin exercising our buying
power as states to assure ongoing access to HIV medications."
"It's great to now be able to count Pfizer/Agouron, GlaxoSmithKline, and
Boehringer Ingelheim among the participants in this unique partnership,"
added Steve
Sherman, ADAP Director in North Carolina. "As a state that has experienced
waiting
lists, we know how critical nationwide savings are." Hoffman-LaRoche, Gilead
Sciences, Abbott Laboratories, and Merck already had agreed to join the
partnership. In
addition, Gilead Sciences recently extended special pricing for ADAPs on
their newly FDA
approved drug, Emtriva.
The seven companies have agreed to contribute more than $50 million
nationwide to assist ADAPs. "This is substantial in a year when the current
federal
fiscal year appropriations only netted an increase of $75 million for a
nationwide program that is well over capacity," commented Dwayne Haught, ADAP
Coordinator in Texas. "Initial increases for ADAP programs in FY2004 in both
House and
Senate subcommittees ($39 million and $25 million, respectively) are far less
than the savings these partnerships have achieved for ADAP programs,"
continued Haught.
Annual combined expenditures from the joint state-federal ADAP program now
top $850 million. These partnerships will result in savings for ADAPs across
the
country through a variety of methods. "These were not easy conversations,"
noted Liza Solomon, AIDS Director for the State of Maryland. "But both sides
were invested in
achieving meaningful outcomes."
"As important for the future," commented Massachusetts AIDS Director Jean
McGuire, "is that all of the industry representatives made a commitment to
developing long-term solutions to the critical problem of HIV drug access in
this country. Federal funding has not kept pace with the drug program
expansion and serious revenue problems in states across the country mean that
financing is not keeping pace with need."
States participating in the ADAP Crisis Task Force include California,
Florida, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, and
Texas. Collectively
these states represent 75% of the national ADAP drug expenditures, but the
agreements will apply to all ADAPs. "We are committed to continuing to
explore every avenue
for savings and every avenue for increased revenue to benefit all state ADAPs
and the clients they serve," concluded Scofield.
Negotiations with Bristol-Myers Squibb remain unfinished. "The Task Force
continues to be hopeful that Bristol-Myers Squibb will join the seven other
manufacturers
of antiretroviral medications and become a partner in these collaborative
efforts to address the national ADAP crisis," noted David Poole, HIV/AIDS
Program Administrator
in Florida.
The AIDS Drug Assistance Program is authorized under the federal Ryan White
Comprehensive AIDS Resources Emergency (CARE) Act and provides funding for HIV
medications for low-income, uninsured and underinsured people living with
HIV/AIDS in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and territories and
associated
jurisdictions.
For further information, contact:
Dwayne Haught, Texas (512) 490-2505
Jean McGuire, Massachusetts (617) 624-5300
Michael Montgomery, California (916) 323-7415
David Poole, Florida (850) 245-4421
Steve Sherman, North Carolina (919) 715-3111
Liza Solomon, Maryland (410) 767-5013
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