HIV Medicines Joint Assessement by GlaxoSmithKline and Boehringer Ingelheim

Main Category: HIV / AIDS
Article Date: 17 May 2004 - 0:00 PDT

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GlaxoSmithKline plc (GSK) and Boehringer Ingelheim announced today that both companies welcome the United States' continued involvement in the global response to HIV/AIDS. GSK and Boehringer Ingelheim have entered into discussions to assess the development of co-packaging of anti-retrovirals for the treatment of HIV infection in the developing world.

"We are committed to playing an integral role in the global response to HIV/AIDS through sustainable preferential pricing, innovative partnership, community investment, and research and development of new medicines and vaccines to fight disease," said Jean-Pierre Garnier, CEO of GlaxoSmithKline. "Both GSK and BI are committed to working to find solutions for easier dosing of HIV medicines, and believe co-packaging could be a useful option in treating the millions of individuals living with HIV in the developing world."

"Treatment simplification can help to optimise HIV therapy and we support this important step forward. We are ready to explore the clinical, technical and regulatory issues related to co-packaging of well-established anti-AIDS drugs together with GlaxoSmithKline," said Dr Alessandro Banchi, chairman of the Board of Managing Directors at Boehringer Ingelheim.

About GlaxoSmithKline

GlaxoSmithKline is one of the world's leading pharmaceutical and healthcare companies, and is committed to improving the quality of human life by enabling people to do more, feel better and live longer. GSK is also a leader in bringing HIV/AIDS treatments to patients, and provides its anti-retrovirals to 63 of the least developed countries and Sub-Saharan Africa at not-for-profit prices. For more information, visit GlaxoSmithKline on the World Wide Web at www.gsk.com.

About Boehringer Ingelheim

The Boehringer Ingelheim Corporation is one of the world's 20 leading pharmaceutical companies. Headquartered in Ingelheim, Germany, it operates globally with 156 affiliates in 44 countries and a total of about 32,000 employees. Since it was founded in 1885, the family-owned company has been committed to researching, manufacturing and marketing novel products of high therapeutic value for human and veterinary medicine.

In 2002, Boehringer Ingelheim posted net sales of 7.6 billion euro while spending about one fifth of net sales in its largest business segment Prescription Medicines on research and development.

For further information on Boehringer Ingelheim, please see www.boehringer-ingelheim.com.

GlaxoSmithKline Enquiries:
UK
Martin Sutton
David Mawdsley
Chris Hunter-Ward
+44 (0)20 8047 5502

US
Nancy Pekarek
+1 215 751 7709
+1 215 778 0366 (mobile)
nancy.j.pekarek@gsk.com

Boehringer Ingelheim GmbH Enquiries:
Germany
Judith von Gordon
+49/6132 77 35 82
gordon@ing.boehringer-ingelheim.com