On Monday, Brazil said it is nearing a deal with the U.S. pharmaceutical firm Abbott Laboratories that would cut nearly in half what the nation pays for the AIDS drug Kaletra. "There are just a few differences in the text of the accord that still need to be ironed out," Health Minister Jose Saraiva Felipe said at an AIDS seminar in Sao Paolo, adding that he expected a deal to be signed within "48 hours." Brazil currently pays $1.17 a pill for Kaletra: The bill for the drug amounts to nearly one-third of the country's total annual budget for antiretrovirals. After months of negotiations, Abbott agreed to sell Kaletra for 63 cents per pill, the minister said, with the price ultimately dropping to 59 cents. The new deal would take effect in February. Abbott spokesperson Brian Kyhos declined to confirm the price reduction. "There is nothing signed yet, so there isn't anything to provide details on," said Kyhos.

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