China Rolls Out Two HIV Drugs to Tackle Resistance

Chinese state media reported Monday that the government will begin providing two imported drugs to AIDS patients who have developed resistance to the current arsenal of domestically manufactured HIV medications. While Chinese-made antiretrovirals can cost as little as $730 a year per patient, the new drugs -- Gilead Sciences Inc.'s Viread and Abbott Laboratories' Kaletra -- each cost about $1,500 annually per patient. Drug-resistant HIV is becoming more common in China as the virus spreads beyond high-risk groups into the general population. A nationwide survey last year found that more than 17 percent of China's HIV patients had developed resistance to available drugs. The government's decision brings to nine the number of HIV drugs available to patients in China.

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