De : "Nelson, Mike" <mike.nelson@roche.com>

Date : 6 octobre 2008 16:49:23 HAEC

À : "Pauline Londeix" <pauline.londeix@gmail.com>

Cc : "Szafir, Deborah {PAXC~Neuilly}" <deborah.szafir@roche.com>, Jérôme Martin <jeromemartin@samizdat.net>

Objet : RE: Roche, South Korea

Dear Pauline,

Thanks for your message. In response to your request we have put together a statement, which I have provided below and explains our position. We will also issue the same statement to anyone who requests it (activist, journalist, etc.) as our goal is to be transparent in our communications. This evening I will call you to further discuss some of these points.

Yes, I do have the name of one contact person in South Korea which you provided to me, but it is not clear what organization this individual represents. We are particularly interested in connecting with groups who truly represent patients with HIV/AIDS, as we believe this will be the most productive dialogue. Our colleagues in South Korea are ready to do this. Can you please clarify?

Best regards

Mike

Mike Nelson

International Communications Manager, Roche

+ 41 61 688 0236 (office)

+ 41 79 572 5165 (mobile)

Roche statement on Fuzeon access in South Korea

Roche is committed to working with the health authority of South Korea, which is a developed country, to address pricing and provide access to Fuzeon(enfuvirtide) for patients through the national health insurance programme. The price we have already offered to the government is in line with the lowest price for Fuzeon that is available to developed countries in the region, such as Taiwan.  In the coming days we will reiterate our offer to the government in an attempt to come to a timely resolution.

The offered price represents the lowest sustainable price at which Roche can provide Fuzeon to South Korea, considering that the production process for this medication requires more than 100 steps – 10 times more than other antiretrovirals. A single vial takes six months to produce, and 45 kg of raw materials are necessary to produce 1 kg of Fuzeon.

 

Since even before Fuzeon was initially approved in 2003, Roche undertook extensive efforts to help the HIV community understand why Fuzeon requires such a complex manufacturing process and why it is necessary that Fuzeon be priced higher than other antiretrovirals. We remain willing to engage in dialogue with HIV community activists in South Korea and other countries to share our rationale.

In regions with more mature HIV epidemics such as the US and Western Europe, the patient need for Fuzeon has declined significantly in the last year due to the introduction of newer HIV medications that, like Fuzeon, are effective in patients with resistance to the oldest classes of antiretrovirals. While Roche is committed to ensuring that Fuzeon remains available for patients, this declining demand means that our production costs have not decreased over time.

Roche takes its role to improve access to medicines very seriously. We seek sustainable and ethical ways to create partnerships, policies and programmes that increase access to our medicines. We supply our antiretrovirals, Invirase and Viracept, at no profit and reduced prices for people living in Least Developed Countries (LDCs)[i]/ sub-Saharan Africa and low-income/lower-middle income countries respectively.

Roche has also established transparent no patent policies for all its medicines, so intellectual property is not a barrier to access for any of our medicines in the world's LDCs. This is extended to patents on antiretrovirals in sub-Saharan Africa, the poorest and hardest hit region by HIV/AIDS.

At the same time, it is essential that the health authorities in developed countries such as South Korea do their part to help support access to the medicines their citizens need.