GENERIC DRUG MAKER LIKES PATENTS AFTERALL
Posted by Douglas Sorocco, July 12, 2004 at 5:51 pm
OPPS! -- HERALDED GENERIC DRUG MAKER PATENTS AIDS DRUG
Cipla, a heralded pioneer in supplying inexpensive generic AIDS drugs in Africa, has patented its own AIDS therapeutic -- a three-in-one combination tablet called Triomune which is comprised of three currently "on patent" drugs: GlaxoSmithKline?s lamivudine, Bristol-Myers Squibb?s stavudine and Boehringer Ingelheim?s nevirapine.
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Cipla?s entry into the patent arena may offer it commercial protection from rivals looking to copy its know-how in combining the three original medicines. But it could prove politically embarrassing.
Richard Feachem, executive director of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, called the study [proving Trimune effective] "extremely good news." The fund buys generics approved by the World Health Organization, including Triomune, so "this gives strong scientific support for the procurement policies the Global Fund has been pursuing for 18 months," he said.