Cancer Vaccines Get a Price Cut in Poor Nations

Friday, May 10, 2013

Thanks to Pap tests, fatal cervical cancers are almost unknown today in rich countries. But the disease kills an estimated 275,000 women a year in poor countries where Pap tests are impractical and the vaccine is far too expensive for the average woman to afford, so the price cut could lead to a significant advance in women’s health.

The offer exemplifies a trend that started a decade ago with AIDS drugs: pharmaceutical companies, under pressure not to ignore the world’s poor, provide low prices on their newest products as long as donors guarantee large orders and pay for them.

Source: The New York Times (link opens in a new window)

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Health Care
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public health