December 1 is World AIDS Day, and this year the official theme is “Focus, Partner, Achieve: An AIDS-free Generation,” according to US Department of Health & Human Services’ website Aids.gov.
With such sentiment, Mylan Laboratories Limited has announced it has partnered with Gilead Sciences to manufacture and distribute Tenofovir Alafenamide (TAF)-based HIV treatments to 112 countries.
The deal will see Gilead transfer its technology to Mylan which will make low-cost versions of the HIV treatments in countries that account for more than 30 million people living with HIV, Mylan says, representing 84% of those infected globally.
“By working with partners like Gilead to help ensure access to innovative new products such as Tenofovir Alafenamide (TAF) in the countries hardest hit by this disease, we can help stem the tide of HIV/AIDS around the world,” Mylan CEO Heather Bresch said in a statement.
As a single agent, Gilead’s Tenofovir Alafenamide (TAF) - an investigational antiretroviral drug for the treatment of HIV-1 –is currently in regulatory submission in the US, while a fixed-dose co-formulation is in Phase III trials.
In September, Gilead announced it would transfer its Sovaldi technology to seven Indian drugmakers, including Mylan, in order to increase access for up to 100 million hepatitis C sufferers in 91 developing countries. In the US, a 12-week treatment of Sovaldi costs $84,000 (€65,000), equating to $1,000 per pill.