African Health, Cancer, African Health Care, KOLUMN Magazine, KOLUMN

As Cancer Tears Through Africa, Drug Makers Draw Up a Battle Plan | The New York Times

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As Cancer Tears Through Africa, Drug Makers Draw Up a Battle Plan | The New York Times



[dropcap]NAIROBI[/dropcap], Kenya — In a remarkable initiative modeled on the campaign against AIDS in Africa, two major pharmaceutical companies, working with the American Cancer Society, will steeply discount the prices of cancer medicines in Africa.

Under the new agreement, the companies — Pfizer, based in New York, and Cipla, based in Mumbai — have promised to charge rock-bottom prices for 16 common chemotherapy drugs. The deal, initially offered to a half-dozen countries, is expected to bring lifesaving treatment to tens of thousands who would otherwise die. [mc4wp_form id=”6042″]

Pfizer said its prices would be just above its own manufacturing costs. Cipla said it would sell some pills for 50 cents and some infusions for $10, a fraction of what they cost in wealthy countries.

The price-cut agreement comes with a bonus: Top American oncologists will simplify complex cancer-treatment guidelines for underequipped African hospitals, and a corps of IBM programmers will build those guidelines into an online tool available to any oncologist with an internet connection.

African Health, Cancer, African Health Care, KOLUMN Magazine, KOLUMNCharlie Shoemaker for The New York Times | Photo Credit

African Health, Cancer, African Health Care, KOLUMN Magazine, KOLUMNCharlie Shoemaker for The New York Times | Photo Credit

African Health, Cancer, African Health Care, KOLUMN Magazine, KOLUMNCharlie Shoemaker for The New York Times | Photo Credit

African Health, Cancer, African Health Care, KOLUMN Magazine, KOLUMNCharlie Shoemaker for The New York Times | Photo Credit

African Health, Cancer, African Health Care, KOLUMN Magazine, KOLUMNCharlie Shoemaker for The New York Times | Photo Credit


NATIONAL MUSEUM OF AFRICAN AMERICAN HISTORY & CULTURE | WASHINGTON, DC

The National Museum of African American History and Culture is the only national museum devoted exclusively to the documentation of African American life, history, and culture. It was established by Act of Congress in 2003, following decades of efforts to promote and highlight the contributions of African Americans. To date, the Museum has collected more than 36,000 artifacts and nearly 100,000 individuals have become charter members. The Museum opened to the public on September 24, 2016, as the 19th and newest museum of the Smithsonian Institution. (Website).