For the first time, a second-line regimen of four anti-retri viral (ARV) drugs will be available for under $500 annually, as part of the Clinton Foundation's efforts to bring low-cost treatment to HIV paqtients in por countries.

Additionally, as part of the foundation's initiative, drug makers Pfizer and Matrix, a Mylan company, will reduce the cost of a key drug for treating tuberculosis (TB) in patients using second-line ARVs has been reduced by 60 per cent to $1 per dose, that would benefit around 2 million patients sufering from drug-resistant HIV / Aids.

Former US president, Bill Clinton today announced the two important and complementary agreements signed by the Clinton Foundation by Matrix, and Pfizer to enable better, more affordable treatments for patients on second-line antiretroviral (ARV) therapy for HIV/AIDS in the developing world.

''Thanks to the work of my foundation's HIV/Aids initiative, 2 million people living with HIV/Aids are now able to access lifesaving treatment,'' President Clinton said. ''But their continued survival depends on uninterrupted access to medicines and quality and affordable health care throughout their entire life. Today's announcement will help ensure we can sustain treatment over a lifetime and better treat patients with both HIV and TB, two key steps in turning the tide of the global HIV/AIDS pandemic.''

Addressing the need for more affordable second-line ARVs, Mylan and Matrix are making available all four drugs – atazanavir (ATV), ritonavir (RTV), tenofovir (TDF), and lamivudine (3TC) – needed to enable once-daily treatment of patients who have developed resistance to standard first-line ARVs.

The four drugs will be available in three pills, with tenofovir and lamivudine combined into a single pill. The three pills are being made available from today as separate products, with a total price of less than $475 annually. Matrix also will sell the pills together in one package – a ''second-line-in-a-box'' – at $425 annually starting in 2010.