Ritonavir
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Ritonavir is a drug from the protease inhibitor class used to treat AIDS. It is manufactured as Norvir® by Abbott Laboratories. Research that led to the drug's development was financed in part by a $3,500,000 grant from United States taxpayers through the National Institutes of Health.
In 2003, Abbott raised the price of a Norvir course from $1.71 per day to $8.57 per day, leading to claims of price gouging by patients' groups and some members of Congress. Consumer group Essential Inventions petitioned the NIH to override the Norvir patent, but the NIH announced on August 4, 2004 that it will not invoke its legal right to allow generic production of Norvir, citing potential adverse effects on the pharmaceutical market.
External links
- NIH Won't Intervene in AIDS Drug Pricing Issue (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A40430-2004Aug4.html)