India is on the way to provide costly ’second-line’ AIDS drugs to patients possibly form next year. The country has decided to take this step to restrict the spreading of the deadly HIV virus among the people.

According to the official, the new drug will cost 12 times than the older medicines. The newer drugs will be given when India would touch the treatment goal of 100,000 AIDS patients with the cheaper drugs under the ongoing national AIDS control programs

K Sujatha Rao, head of National AIDS Control Organisation, said that the organization has committed to touch 100,000 before providing second-line drugs to AIDS patients.

If the organization would succeed to touch 100,000 mark, the second-line drug will be provided to anyone who needs it.

According to the report, the second-line drugs will be helpful when the virus becomes resistant to the first-line medicines.

It will cost Rs 10,000 (239 dollars) per person a month. The older medicine was costing Rs 10,000 rupees per person per year.

India has started providing the generic AIDS drugs from 2004 through various national health programs.

According to the data, about 55,473 people were getting treatment through the government program by December 2006. On the other hand, another 15,000 are being treated by charities and private centers also.

Rao has criticized private health practitioners for bypassing the older drugs and immediately prescribing the second-generation medicines to patients. He said that the introduction of the new drugs should go with slow process.

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