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New AIDS drug set for China licence
(ZI MI, China Daily)
12/07/2002
There was good news for Chinese HIV/AIDS sufferers yesterday with the revelation
that another affordable imported drug will soon be available in the nation.
Merck Sharp & Dohme China Ltd (MSD) said yesterday that
it will introduce a new 600 milligram tablet formulation of STOCRIN (efavirenz)
with a price tag of US$2.10 in China.
But the American pharmaceutical company did not reveal the exact date of introduction.
MSD said it will work closely with the Chinese Government to achieve the early
approval and introduction of this product to China.
It recently filed for registration of the drug in the country.
STOCRIN enables patients to take one tablet per day rather than three capsules
and has the potential to simplify treatment regimes. It is currently approved
in 17 countries.
Douglas Cheung, managing director of MSD China, said the company will continue
efforts to expand access to HIV care and treatment in China.
" It is encouraging to see that the Chinese Government has been attaching
higher importance to HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment," he said.
GlaxoSmithKline - one of the world's largest AIDS drug companies - announced
last month in Beijing that it will localize the production of combivir, the backbone
drug in the so-called "cocktail
treatment" for AIDS patients.
The "cocktail treatment" is a combination
of several AIDS drugs to treat the disease and is used worldwide.
It has already submitted applications for the localization of combivir manufacturing
to the State Drug Administration and it is expected that the company's plant
in North China's Tianjin will be producing the drug by the end of 2004.
The Chinese Government is stepping up efforts to broaden HIV/AIDS patients' access
to affordable medications as the nation wakes up to the fact that AIDS is one
of the top public health threats. |
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