SA's first generic Aids drug
8 August 2003
The first locally manufactured generic anti-Aids drug - up to 41% cheaper than the original - was unveiled in Pretoria last week, with manufacturer Aspen Pharmacare saying it hoped the drug, Aspen-Stavudine, would eventually form part of a cocktail for Aids patients costing less than US$1, or about R7, per day.
Aspen-Stavudine is between 17% and 41% cheaper than its patented version, Zerit, which is produced by Bristol-Myers Squibb. Different strengths of the drug would cost between R24 and R33.60 for a month's supply, compared to R40.54 for Zerit - and about R300 a month for Nevirapine.
Speaking at the launch, Trade and Industry Minister Alec Erwin said the new generic drug would play an important role in ensuring that those suffering from HIV/Aids had access to affordable medication, and reiterated the need for developing countries to be allowed by the World Trade Organisation to produce and trade generic drugs among
themselves.
Aspen-Stavudine, Erwin said, had taken the pharmaceutical industry in South Africa "one stage deeper … and it will be an important contribution to the availability and affordability of antiretroviral therapies".
The launch of the drug was the culmination of two years' intensive work between the department of trade and industry and Pharmacare.
Aspen Group CEO Stephen Saad said his company would do its best to help the government combat the disease, adding that the drug would form "one element of a multi-faceted solution to containing the pandemic, the others including appropriate nutrition, education, prophylaxis and other measures undertaken in the government's integrated HIV/Aids strategy".
Aspen-Stavudine was developed in-house, and met the stringent regulator requirements set by the Medicines Control Council. "This included bio-studies, which results have shown the Aspen generic antiretrovirals to be consistent with the original products", Saad
said.
Aspen-Stavudine is used to suppress the HI-Virus, preventing the immune system from destroying the white blood cells that are required to fight off opportunistic infections. It is used in combination with other drugs to attack the virus in different stages of its life-cycle — helping the patient to live a healthier life.
The company has also applied to the Medicines Control Council to be allowed to manufacture generics of the drugs Didanosine, Combivir, AZT, 3TC and Nevirapine, whose licences had been made available to Aspen through agreements with Bristol-Myers Squibb, GlaxoSmithKline and Boehringer Ingelheim.
"As a result of these licenses, Aspen infringes no patents and has complied to all the World Trade Organisation (WTO) rules and the GATT, GATS and TRIPS agreements", Saad said.
SouthAfrica.info reporter
| 
