SA to produce nevirapine
2002-10-15 10:27
Johannesburg - Boehringer Ingelheim South Africa has granted South African pharmaceutical manufacturer Aspen Pharmacare a voluntary licence to produce, distribute and sell the antiretroviral drug nevirapine.
The company said on Monday this "gesture" showed its commitment to combating HIV.
Aspen will manufacture nevirapine locally, a key aspect of the
agreement, and the product will be distributed through state
institutions to needy patients.
Aspen has licences to the generics of combivir, AZT and 3TC and access to the generics for the patents over Zerit and Videx. But to be in a position to provide a cocktail therapy for HIV/Aids, Aspen needed nevirapine.
Aspen will also be entitled to export nevirapine to 13 other
Southern African Development Community countries - Angola,
Botswana, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Lesotho, Malawi,
Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Seychelles, Swaziland, Tanzania,
Zambia and Zimbabwe.
- SAPA