United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon says that several major drugmakers promised to invest more on researching treatments for the AIDS virus and diagnostic procedures for poorer regions.

The drugmakers also agreed to invest more in prevention, including vaccines and pre- and post-exposure prophylaxis, Ban said in a statement issued after he met with top execs at pharma and diagnostic firms working on AIDS.

“We noted that despite the gains, the epidemic continues to outstrip our best efforts. Only one-third of those who need antiretroviral treatment in low-and middle-income countries are getting it,” he said. “Each day, for every two people who are placed on antiretroviral treatment, five more are infected. Collectively, we still have more work to do.”

Ban and other UN officials met with senior execs from 17 companies, including Abbott, Boehringer Ingelheim, Glaxo, Pfizer, Roche, Merck, Becton-Dickinson, Johnson & Johnson, Gilead Sciences, and Ranbaxy, among others.

He said the companies agreed to “invest further in research and development of new HIV-related medicines adapted to resource-limited settings to be used safely in children, adolescents, adults and pregnant women…All participants agreed that increasing access to vaccines, diagnostics and medicines is essential in scaling up prevention and treatment efforts.”

Ban did note some progress: As many as 3 million people were on treatment by the end of 2007, up from 1.3 million in 2006. There have been significant price reductions for first-line and pediatric antiretroviral drugs, and some second-line products.

Two new classes of drugs have been introduced and new heat-stable formulations and fixed-dose combinations have been developed. There has also been further investment and development of technologies for prevention and diagnosis of HIV and for monitoring the efficacy of antiretroviral therapy in adults and children.