The US Food and Drug Administration will share information on the approval of anti-HIV medicines with the World Health Organisation, according to reports in US newspapers, the Boston Globe and the International Herald Tribune. The move is designed to speed up access to medicines for those in poorer countries.
The deal, signed earlier this month, will involve the FDA sending information on anti-HIV drugs to the WHO, which will then evaluate the data to decide whether to add a compound to its list of approved medicines. In turn, poorer nations will open their doors to importation of the drugs, allowing the USA the opportunity to buy and distribute them.
According to the newspapers, a few months ago “several African countries” were insisting on the WHO’s approval on drugs and refused to accept the decision of the US regulatory agency.
