[afro-nets] Aspen Pharmacare to Produce ARV Drugs for Sale

[Leela McCullough <leela@healthnet.org>]

Aspen Pharmacare in Agreement with Gilead to Produce Antiretro-
viral Drugs for Sale in 95 Developing Countries
---------------------------------------------------------------

27 April, 2005
Reprinted with permission from kaisernetwork.org

South Africa-based drug maker Aspen Pharmacare on Monday an-
nounced that it has entered into a nonexclusive agreement with
Foster City, Calif.-based pharmaceutical company... Gilead to
produce the antiretroviral drugs Viread and Truvada, which will
be sold in 95 developing countries, South Africa's Business Day
reports (Kahn, Business Day, 4/26). Aspen will have exclusive
distribution rights for the drugs in Africa under the terms of
the deal, which is expected to be finalized in September
(Reuters, 4/25). Gilead will provide Aspen with the ingredients
and technology to make Viread and Truvada -- which is a combina-
tion of Viread and Emtriva, known generically as emtricitabine -
- and Aspen will seek licensing approval in African countries
where the drugs are not already registered. Aspen will sell the
two drugs at Gilead's global access program price of about 80
cents per patient per day, according to Stavros Nicolau, Aspen's
head of strategic trade (Business Day, 4/26). Nicolau would not
comment on projected sales volume but said the African market
has "strong potential" because only about 7% to 8% of HIV-
positive patients have access to antiretroviral medication, Xin-
huanet reports (Xinhuanet, 4/26). "Gilead has continually ex-
plored ways to broaden and expedite access to our antiretrovi-
rals in resource-limited parts of the world where HIV is impact-
ing the lives of so many individuals," Gilead President and CEO
John Martin said. "This initiative between Aspen and Gilead fur-
ther lightens the burden on ARV global capacities and enables
both companies to expand access and affordability to key AIDS
medication to some of the world's most resource-constrained
countries, who also happen to be the ones hit hardest by the
HIV/AIDS pandemic," Aspen CEO Stephen Saad said (Gilead release,
4/25).

"Reprinted with permission from kaisernetwork.org You can view
the entire Kaiser Daily HIV/AIDS Report, search the archives, or
sign up for email delivery at
www.kaisernetwork.org/dailyreports/hiv.. The Kaiser Daily
HIV/AIDS Report is published for kaisernetwork.org, a free ser-
vice of The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation . © 2005 Advisory
Board Company and Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.


--
Leela McCullough, Ed.D.
Director of Information Services

SATELLIFE
30 California Street, Watertown, MA 02472, USA
Tel: +1-617-926-9400
Fax: +1-617-926-1212
mailto:leela@healthnet.org
http://www.healthnet.org