Patients in poorer countries often have to wait a number of years until the patents expire on new drugs and can be made more cheaply by generic companies. This week however, Gilead Sciences has struck a deal with Mylan Inc. to allow four of its AIDS drugs to be made generic at an obviously cheaper cost in return for a small percentage of royalties according to the United Nations. The first of its kind deal was negotiated by the U.N. led Medicines Patent Pool, a partnership that raises money for AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria.

Mylan now holds the right to produce and market generic versions of Gilead’s HIV/AIDS therapies if they are approved by regulators, and also can expand production and marketing of several other Gilead products to 16 additional countries.

The availability of cheap antiretroviral drugs has been instrumental in treatment scale-up for resource-poor settings hard hit by the AIDS epidemic. Around 5.25 million people in low- and middle-income countries are currently receiving drugs to treat HIV/AIDS. This would simply not have been possible without a reduction in the price of antiretroviral drugs (ARVs).

Under terms of the deal, Mylan now holds the right to produce and market generic versions of Gilead’s HIV/AIDS therapies if they are approved by regulators. In addition, the broadened arrangement allows Mylan to expand production and marketing of several other Gilead products to 16 additional countries.

Roughly 33 million people worldwide have HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, and live in Africa and Asia where medicines to treat the virus must be affordable in order for those who have little funds to buy the drugs. One of the four drugs will also be used to treat people with hepatitis.

Mylan President Heather Bresch commented:

“We are pleased to expand our collaboration with Gilead as it will enable more individuals living with HIV/AIDS in resource-limited countries to access the newest innovative medicines.”

Gilead will receive from three to five percent royalties on its four drugs, which will be supplied to about 100 countries. Until now, its drugs have been mainly sold in “rich” countries, and profits from the new deal are expected to be a tiny fraction of those Gilead normally receives from the Western consumers.

As the world’s third-largest generic-drug maker by sales, Mylan has posted rising revenue in recent quarters, helped by strong sales in North America and the Asia Pacific region.

Michelle Childs, a director at Doctors Without Borders adds:

“This agreement is an improvement over what other big pharma companies are doing to ensure access to their patented AIDS medicines in developing countries.”

Mylan offers one of the broadest and highest quality generic and specialty pharmaceutical product portfolios in the industry. The company maintains a robust pipeline and provides a wide array of dosage forms and delivery systems through an expansive global commercial footprint. Through its subsidiary Matrix Laboratories, Mylan has direct access to one of the world’s largest active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) manufacturers. This relationship makes Mylan one of only two global generics companies with a comprehensive, vertically integrated supply chain. Matrix also is one of the world’s largest producers of API used to make generic antiretroviral (ARV) therapies for the treatment of HIV/AIDS.

Despite significant advances, a number of problems related to the price of HIV drugs remain. Not all drugs to treat HIV and AIDS are available at a suitably cheap price for poor countries, meaning that many of the newer, more effective drugs are only available in the West.

Sources: Mylan Inc. and Avert.org

Written by Sy Kraft