Nevirapine's low price and simplicity of administration — it requires only two doses to the pregnant mother, and one to the infant after delivery — has made it a popular antiretroviral drug for preventing mother-to-child transmission of HIV in developing countries.

But the role of pharmaceutical companies remains controversial. On the eve of last week's AIDS conference in Durban (see above) the drug's manufacturer, Boehringer Ingelheim, offered to provide it free to 100 developing countries for five years, as long as they could demonstrate both that they needed the drug and that they had the infrastructure to administer its provision.

But the offer met with a frosty reception from South African health minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang, who criticized the company for not telling the government about its offer before the announcement.

Boehringer Ingelheim's representative in South Africa, Lynette Boshoff, told Nature that no governments were approached before the offer was made, and that negotiations would start immediately after the conference with those that were interested in taking it up.

Representatives from Boehringer Ingelheim and four other drug companies and agencies in the Access to Treatment initiative (see Nature 405, 263; 2000) met with government officials from across Africa — including Tshabalala-Msimang — in Geneva on 30 June to discuss providing developing countries with cut-price drugs. Boehringer Ingelheim's offer appears to supersede this in the case of nevirapine.

The meeting followed an official approach to the targeted countries, including South Africa, by United Nations agencies to determine whether they wished to investigate the offer. A second meeting is expected to be held in September.

Meanwhile, Tshabalala-Msimang continues to emphasize that South Africa is considering parallel importation (procurement from channels not authorized by the patent holder), and compulsory licensing, although neither option now appears necessary in the case of nevirapine.