President Felipe Calderon promised that Mexico’s public healthcare service, Seguro Popular, will provide free antiretroviral treatment to all Mexicans infected with HIV/AIDS.

During his inaugural speech for the 17th International AIDS Conference (AIDS 2008) in Mexico City on Sunday, Calderon also said he will permit the import of key medications used in the treatment of HIV/AIDS from all over the world, whether or not the manufacturer produces their drugs in Mexico.

“Just like the rest of the international community, we are concerned that the prices of these medications for those who still don’t have access to health care are inaccessible,” said Calderon.

Calderon said he expects the introduction of internationally produced generic drugs to spur competition and drive down the overall per-treatment cost of 10,000 pesos per patient by 37 percent on average.

Under Mexican law, only pharmaceutical companies with facilities in Mexico can obtain approval for sale in the Mexican market. The production of Mexico’s HIV/AIDS medications is currently dominated by just seven transnational name-brand pharmaceuticals.

With his country’s health policies under the microscope as host of the world conference, President Calderon said he is committed to meeting UN deadlines for universal access to AIDS prevention and treatment by 2010.

Mexico is currently one of the most expensive developing nations for HIV/AIDS treatment.  Antiretrovirals — the most effective treatment against HIV — are sold in Mexico for up to four times the price charged in other Latin American countries. 

Last year, the government purchased 150 million dollars of antiretrovirals from Mexico’s seven leading manufacturers.

Secretary of Health Jose Angel Cordova Villalobos said antiretroviral prices in Mexico rose 46 percent in the last two years.

In Jalisco, the Social Security hospital system (IMSS) has come under fire from patients’ rights activists for persistent shortages of antiretrovirals over the last few years. IMSS has said it lacks the budget to purchase sufficient quantities of the expensive drugs.

Most of the seven major pharmaceutial companies have agreed to reduce costs on 21 patented and seven generic antiretrovirals. 

Merck, makers of oft-prescribed Efavitrenz, committed to a 41 percent price reduction on sales to Mexico’s federal health programs such as IMSS, ISSSTE and Censida, according to company spokesman Frank Gutierrez.

President Calderon said Wednesday import restrictions will be lifted immediately on antiretrovirals, and restrictions on other key drugs will be lifted gradually over the course of his administration.