Pharma companies to licence AIDS drugs
pharmafile | December 12, 2003 | News story | Sales and Marketing |
Cheaper AIDS drugs should soon be available in South Africa after two pharma companies agreed to licence their products to generic companies.
GlaxoSmithKline and Boehringer Ingelheim are to allow a number of South African generic companies to produce copies of their patented antiretroviral (ARV) drugs.
The move paves the way for wider access to ARV drugs and a big drop in their prices – a month supply of the drugs is expected to fall to 300 rand, just a quarter of its current price, when generics are made available.
The pharma companies' decisions were made in settlement of a court case brought against them by a number of AIDS' sufferers and patient groups, including the Treatment Action Campaign (TAC).
TAC said the terms agreed included GSK granting licences to four generic companies for its ARV medicines AZT and lamivudine and Boehringer Ingelheim granting licences to three generic companies for its ARV medicine nevirapine.
The deal also limits the pharma companies' royalty fee on the drugs to no more than 5% of net sales.
TAC also called on other pharma companies, such as Merck, Roche and Abbott, to follow the examples of GSK, BI and Bristol-Myers Squibb by agreeing either not to enforce their patents on ARV medicines in sub-Saharan Africa or by granting voluntary licences to generic manufacturers on reasonable terms.
The settlement followed a ruling by the South African Competition Commission in October stating GSK and BI had abused their dominant positions in their respective ARV markets.
Competition commissioner, Menzi Simelane, said he was happy a settlement had been reached.
"The terms of the agreements are substantially similar to the successful outcomes which we would have hoped to achieve at hearings before the Tribunal, namely the issuing of licenses to generic manufacturers of antiretroviral drugs," he said.
Peter Bains, senior vice president, GSK, welcomed the decision not to refer the complaint to a tribunal.
"We are pleased that a satisfactory settlement has been achieved. We have reached agreement with the Commission and the complainants on an appropriate response to the HIV/AIDS pandemic in the region. That is what really matters," he said.
GSK granted a voluntary licence to generic drug manufacturer Aspen Pharmacare in 2001 for the manufacture and sale of three ARVs but only for the public sector in South Africa. This was extended to include both the public and private sectors in October 2003.
GSK also recently announced a $1.6 million grant over two years to support the work of two HIV/AIDS clinics in Malawi and Uganda. The funding will help expand a programme of care that focuses on preserving the health of families suffering from HIV/AIDS, thereby avoiding the creation of more 'AIDS orphans'.
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