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Published on November 27, 2007

Vichai said the Health Ministry is collecting and processing information about the side effects of the GPO-VIR anti-Aids drug, which comprises lamivudine, stavudine and nevirapine. This is the basic Aids drug formula the country has used since 2004.

The ministry estimated that 10,000 to 20,000 people per 100,000 who take the GPO-VIR drug would suffer from side effects like severe vomiting and skin irritation.

Vichai said if the ministry changes one of the components of GPO-VIR from nevirapine to efavirenz the side effects would be reduced. He said the ministry is continuing to study the side effects of GPO-VIR among people living with HIV/Aids in Thailand.

The ministry also needs to consider the cost benefits of using the new formula before making a decision whether to change the GPO-VIR components. He said if the ministry changes the GPO-VIR component from nevirapine to efavirenz, the price of the drug would increase from Bt1090 per patient per month to Bt1,200 per patient per month. It would be a burden for patients who could not afford the higher price.

Meanwhile, Nimit Tienudom, an executive director of the Aids Access Foundation, said the price of efavirenz had already been reduced from Bt1,500 per tablet to Bt596 per tablet after the Health Ministry imposed compulsory licensing for this drug.

Therefore the ministry should change the GPO-VIR component because about 10 per cent of HIV/Aids sufferers take the drug and have severe side effects.

"Many people living with HIV/Aids need to take the GPO-VIR drug, and it would be safer if the government changed the basic component from nevirapine to efavirenz," Nimit said.

Pongphon Sarnsamak

 The Nation