Only a few weeks behind schedule, Merck announced this morning that the three-in-one AIDS treatment, which was approved by the FDA last summer, will soon become available in 54 developing countries in Africa, the Middle East, Asia and Latin America.

Atripla is a once-a-day combination of Bristol-Myers Squibb’s Sustiva, which Merck markets outside the US as Stocrin, and two drugs from Gilead Sciences, Emtriva and Viread.

Here’s the pricing: For countries in the Low Human Development Index (HDI) category and countries in the Medium HDI category, with adult HIV prevalence greater than one percent, ATRIPLA will cost $1.68 per tablet, or $50.40 per pack, in 67 eligible countries. For 22 countries in the Medium HDI with adult HIV prevalence less than one percent, it will cost $2.83, or $84.90.

“Fixed-dose combination drugs have revolutionized antiretroviral therapy in the developing world and brought treatment to millions,” says Richard Feachem, director of The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria. “Atripla is a valuable addition to the armory and requires only one pill per day. It’s also the first triple drug FDC for AIDS developed by a consortium of originator companies.”

[tags]AIDS, Atripla, Gilead Sciences, Merck[/tags]