Mintz Levin Counsels Former President Bill Clinton's Foundation In Landmark Agreement
1/20/2004
Assists in Negotiation with Leading Medical Technology Companies to Provide Low Cost HIV/AIDS Tests in Developing Countries
Boston, MA - Last week, the William Jefferson Clinton Presidential Foundation announced an unprecedented agreement with five of the world's leading medical technology companies to significantly reduce the price of HIV/AIDS tests for countries with the largest HIV/AIDS populations. Richard J. Zall, a partner in Mintz Levin's Health Law section and a Senior Vice President in ML Strategies, the firm's consulting affiliate, played a key role in negotiating and drafting the agreements on behalf of the Foundation.
Former President Clinton, joined by executives from Bayer Diagnostics, Beckman Coulter, Inc., BD (Becton, Dickinson and Company), bioMérieux and Roche Diagnostics, announced the agreement at a press conference in New York yesterday.
"It has been an honor to be a part of an initiative that will have such a dramatic and positive impact on the lives of literally millions of people," said Richard J. Zall of Mintz Levin. "The Foundation and the participating companies are to be commended for their vision and the commitment to develop new, commercially viable ways to lower the cost of treatment for people with AIDS in the developing world. I appreciate the Foundation's confidence in our ability to assist them in this important endeavor, and thank my firm for supporting this effort."
The agreement will reduce the cost by up to 80% for the tests that determine the proper dosage and effectiveness of antiretroviral drugs. The lower cost tests will be made available for people with HIV/AIDS in 16 countries throughout Africa and the Caribbean, including The Republic of South Africa, Tanzania, Mozambique, Rwanda, Haiti, the Dominican Republic, and several other Caribbean countries. These nations represent about 30% of people with HIV in sub-Saharan Africa and about 90% of people with the virus in the Caribbean. The agreement was structured to enable additional nations to participate as well in the future.
The project is the latest initiative of the Clinton Foundation HIV/AIDS Initiative, which for more than a year has been working with government and non-governmental organizations to develop comprehensive programs for the treatment and prevention of AIDS. Last October, President Clinton announced a major reduction in the price of aniretroviral drugs for developing countries. In making the announcement, former President remarked, "We are systematically changing the economics of AIDS treatment in places where, before now, very few people have been able to receive life-saving care."
Ira Magaziner, former Senior Policy Advisor to President Clinton, serves as the Chairman of the Clinton Foundation HIV/AIDS Initiative. Mr. Magaziner quoted in a Wall Street Journal story on the announcement, said, "I can tell you that negotiating these arrangements ? with five U.S. and European companies and their lawyers has not been a trivial matter." Zall said the individual agreements cover such issues as product quality and distribution arrangements, company participation in developing nation procurements, and pricing and volume commitments.
Additional information about the Clinton Foundation HIV/AIDS Initiative can be found at www.clintonpresidentialcenter.org.
Mr. Zall and an attorney from Baker & Hostetler negotiated the HIV/AIDS test agreements for the Foundation on a pro bono basis.
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