Abstract

AIDS: Since the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) approval of Schering-Plough's 3-year bundling patent on ribavirin with its brand of alpha interferon (Intron A) for the treatment of hepatitis C, ribavirin has become very expensive to buy. Bundling inhibits research on the drug as a possible element in combination HIV therapy, which is an important consideration for patients who have become resistant to other antiretrovirals. As of July 9, 1999, a compounding pharmacy in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, is making ribavirin available at a price reduction of nearly 80 percent. Because the FDA does not approve compounded medications, there do not appear to be legal barriers to selling the compounded version after the Schering-Plough patent expires. The Hepatitis C Action & Advocacy Coalition (HAAC) press statement on an alternative source of ribavirin USP, is included.