GlaxoSmithKline grants licence to local drug firm

Pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) had granted a South African company a licence to manufacture and market three key AIDS medicines in South Africa, the company announced on Sunday.

Aspen Pharmacare CEO Stephen Saad, told PlusNews on Monday that his company had been granted a voluntary licence on patents to GSK's antiretroviral drugs AZT and 3TC, and a third pill, Combivir, which combines the two. He said the company would be allowed to sell its versions of the widely-used AIDS drugs to the public health system, charities and non-profit organisations in South Africa, while GSK continued to supply private markets. Other countries in Africa were not part of the deal.

GSK was one of several pharmaceutical companies which took the South African government to court to prevent it from passing a law which would enable the import and manufacture of cheaper generic drugs. The companies dropped the lawsuit in the face of immense public pressure. Before the agreement with Aspen, GSK was already offering its drugs to South Africa's public health system at cost - about US $2 per person a day for Combivir, a combination of 3TC and AZT. According to Saad, under this agreement, the price will now range from US $1-1.50 per person a day.

GSK and Shire Pharmaceuticals, which hold the patents on the medicines, would charge a 30 percent licensing fee to Aspen, the report said. Saad said the money would be set aside for non-profit organisations fighting HIV/AIDS in the country.