Aspen gains from state AIDS plan
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Science and Health Correspondent
CAPE TOWN Aspen Pharmacare, SA's largest manufacturer of generic medicines and the only domestic company licensed to make generic AIDS drugs, is already benefiting from government's announcement that it will provide antiretroviral medicines to people infected with HIV.
"If government puts half a million people on antiretrovirals, we could (easily) cope with the manufacturing (as we recently) increased manufacturing capacity by 3-billion to 5-billion tablets a year," said Aspen group CEO Stephen Saad.
Aspen is the largest supplier of generic medicines to the state, and has already started selling Aspen-stavudine, a generic version of Bristol-Myers Squibb's stavudine which is sold under the brand name Zerit.
Saad said that Aspen- stavudine was 17%-41% cheaper than Zerit, which costs R40,54 for a month's supply.
The licence enables Aspen to market Aspen-stavudine in the public and private sector throughout Africa.
Aspen has licences for five other AIDS drugs: Boehringer Ingelheim's nevirapine; GlaxoSmithKline's AZT, 3TC and Combivir AZT and 3TC combined and Bristol-Myers' Videx.
The licences from Glaxo and Boehringer stipulate that the drugs may be sold only in the public sector or to nongovernmental organisations.
Aspen has submitted its generic versions of these drugs to the Medicines Control Council, and expects them to be registered within the next six to nine months, said Saad.
"A cocktail (of Aspen's generic AIDS drugs) should cost less than R250 a month," he said.
He said the company would charge the same price in the public and private sector for its generic AIDS drugs.
Aspen's share price fell 0,59% yesterday on the JSE Securities Exchange SA to close at 845c after 39600 shares changed hands.
Aug 13 2003 08:35:23:000AM Tamar Kahn Business Day 1st Edition
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