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A South African generic drug manufacturer has been granted a voluntary licence to produce and sell some GlaxoSmithKline antiretroviral (ARV) medication.
Under the terms of its agreement, Biotech, the fourth local company to receive a voluntary licence, will be able to supply ARVs to both the public and private markets throughout sub-Saharan Africa.
The South African Press Agency (SAPA) quoted GlaxoSmithKline's (GSK) Gunther Faber as saying: "The granting of this licence to Biotech Laboratories will, we feel, help to ease the situation in some measure, and reflects GSK's long-standing and continuing commitment to improve access to medicines in developing countries - a commitment we are proud of and will maintain far into the future."
Earlier this year GSK also granted a licence to a Kenyan company, Cosmos Limited, to supply, manufacture and sell ARV medication in Kenya and elsewhere in east Africa.
This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions