The launch of new drugs and an increase in the number of people diagnosed with HIV is set to make AIDS medicine a $10.6 billion market by 2015, according to a Datamonitor report. That would be a significant increase from about $7.1 billion in 2005.

For drugmakers, this brings good and bad news. Big pharma may be under pressure to cut prices in the developing world, but selling HIV drugs in the West remains a lucrative and fast-growing business. The research firm says sales growth will come from new drugs with novel mechanisms and next-generation versions of existing meds.

Most cases of HIV/AIDS occur in sub-Saharan Africa, where lack of funding means treatment is restricted and prices are under pressure, resulting in little if any profit for multinational drug firms. Abbott, for instance, just slashed the price in 45 countries, including Thailand, where the government threatened to issue a compulsory license for its Kaletra AIDS drug.

At the same time, however, AIDS is is also increasing in the developed world, with an estimated 2.1 million people in North America and Western Europe living with HIV in 2006, up from 1.9 million in 2004.

Source: Reuters

[tags]Abbott Laboratories, AIDS, Datamonitor[/tags]