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Indian firms to supply AIDS drug to Africa
By siliconindia staff writer
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Monday, 27 October 2003, 20:30 IST
NEW YORK: Indian generic drug manufacturers Cipla, Ranbaxy Laboratories and Matrix Laboratories along with Aspen Pharmacare Holdings of South Africa have reached an agreement with former American President Bill Clinton's foundation to supply to African and the Caribbean countries HIV/AIDS medicines at highly reduced price.
Announcing the agreement, which will benefit tens of thousands of people in the poverty-ridden nations, Clinton said it would now be easier to make life-savings drugs to be widely available to people with AIDS in the developing world.
The agreement covers antiretroviral drugs (ARVs) which will be delivered to people in Africa and the Caribbean where the Clinton Foundation's HIV/AIDS initiative is working with governments and organisations to set up country-wide integrated care, treatment and prevention programmes.
At least two million people are expected to receive the medicines by the 2008.
"This agreement will allow the delivery of life-saving medicines to people who desperately need them," Clinton said. "It represents a big breakthrough in our efforts to begin treatment programmes in places where, until now, there has been virtually no medicine, and therefore no hope."