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Tentative US approval of Glaxo AIDS drug

    JOHANNESBURG

    The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Wednesday announced the tentative approval of a generic version of pharceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline's anti-AIDS drug, Retrovir.

    Known chemically as zidovudine, Retrovir helps to prevent the HIV virus from multiplying.

    The low-cost versions of Glaxo's medicine are currently being manufactured by India's Ranbaxy Laboratories, and will be used in developing countries as part of the US President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), the FDA said in a statement.

    Launched by President George W. Bush in 2003, PEPFAR is a five-year, $15 billion programme that aims to treat two million HIV-positive people and provide care for 10 million others in 15 countries, mostly in 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

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