Local generic drugs available soon

South Africa's first locally produced generic HIV/AIDS drugs could soon bring relief to thousands of people infected with the HI virus.

Aspen Pharmacare CEO Stephen Saad, told PlusNews on Tuesday that a cheaper, generic version of AZT could be produced by his company. The daily dosage of the drug would cost US $0.87 a day while a triple therapy combination could cost $1.30 a day.

The local company was last year granted voluntary licences by GlaxoSmithKline and Bristol-Myers Squibb to produce generic versions of their antiretroviral drugs in South Africa.

"It's not easy to prepare AIDS drugs from scratch, but we are now slowly getting ready," said Saad.

The company will now be submitting the drugs to the government's Medical Research Council for final regulatory approval. "We're not anticipating any problems here," he added.

According to Saad, international humanitarian organisation Medecines sans Frontieres had already expressed an interest in purchasing the drugs, and the company was also negotiating with other NGOs.

The government's lack of clarity on the use of antiretroviral drugs had been an obstacle in the company's preparations, he said. "A pro-active policy towards antiretrovirals is absolutely necessary, we couldn't afford to sit and do nothing."

The South African Department of Health in 1999 issued national guidelines for antiretroviral treatment that barred doctors from giving antiretroviral drugs in government hospitals. These drugs are only made available at government pilot sites and through private clinics, hospitals and NGOs.

Nkululeko Nxesi, director of the National Association of People living with HIV/AIDS (NAPWA), told PlusNews that the organisation would welcome a local generic drug that could make drugs affordable and accessible to all.

This would create "positive competition" within the pharmaceutical industry and hopefully would benefit people living with HIV/AIDS, he said.