Key Medicine Firms Disagree With U.N. List of AIDS Drugs

The World Health Organization has produced a list of companies making safe AIDS drugs, a move that could bring down the price of treatment in poor countries.

But the organization representing major drug companies said Thursday that the move could reduce the quality of treatment and lead to widespread drug resistance.

The WHO list, released Wednesday, named 41 drugs by eight manufacturers that met its criteria for quality. It included products by the Indian generic manufacturer Cipla as well as by major drug makers such as Bristol-Myers Squibb Co., GlaxoSmithKline, Abbott Laboratories and Roche Holding.

“This U.N. initiative marks an important step in . . . improving the procurement of these drugs for people living with HIV/AIDS in developing countries,” said Peter Piot, executive director of the United Nations’ AIDS agency.

The International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Assns., however, said it did not think that some generic suppliers met acceptable standards.

But the WHO’s Jonathan Quick said, “The process we used was according to international standards.”