Ongwediva — ErongoMed on Tuesday launched what it described as a cost-effective single-dose combination anti-retroviral (ARV) drug with active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) that is taken once a day to battle the HIV/AIDS scourge.
HIV-positive patients will have to wait a little longer until a panel on anti-retroviral guidelines meets to review the current guidelines before the Ministry of Health and Social Services (MoHSS) approves the use of the medicine in hospitals and clinics in the private and public health sectors in line with WHO standards.
The high-profile launch was attended by medical practitioners from the private and public sectors, including Zimbabwe and Zambia.
It was preceded by a presentation titled, The Role of Protease Inhibitors as Second Line Regimen of the highly active anti-retroviral therapy or HAART by Dr Tadesse Tefere, a specialist clinician on HIV/AIDS who is based in the north. His presentation dealt with research evidence of toxins found in some ARVs, medical aid requirements, complications associated with the use of drugs, viral load and virology rebound. ErongoMed Managing Director, Cosmas Mukaratirwa, told New Era that the fixed dose combination Anzavir-R (Atazanavir and Ritonavir) tablet is taken once a day with food compared to the twice a day drugs regimen currently being used.
According to Mukaratirwa, ErongoMed is one of the preferred suppliers of the new drug to the Ministry of Health and Social Services (MoHSS), including other pharmaceutical products.
He revealed that ErongoMed supplies 60 percent of ARVs to the MoHSS. Mukaratirwa explained that the Atazanavir capsule - 300 mg, the Ritonavir tablet - 100 mg, which is heat-stable, is a co-packaged product that makes available a once a day treatment for patients who have developed resistance to standard first-line ARVs.
"As you can see today we are launching this new innovative product, which is a fixed dose combination drug which patients can take once a day. This means that patients do not have to carry so many tablets. These drugs are designed to reduce the pill burden for patients and can help to increase treatment adherence through a more convenient packaging presentation," he said.
Mukaratirwa added that when compared to other drugs in the protease inhibitor class, Atazanavir is less likely to cause dyslipidemia, a condition associated with elevated lipid levels in the body.
According to Mukaratirwa, ErongoMed helps to increase access to more affordable, more convenient medicines for patients in developing countries through the drugs made available by Mylan, one of the world's leading generic and specialty pharmaceutical companies serving customers in more than 150 countries.
According to Mylan country manager Geoffrey Ngwira the product was developed in line with the World Health Organisation (WHO's) Expression of Interest application process - an initiative intended to increase access to and the affordability of HIV/AIDS treatment.
"At Mylan, HIV/AIDS continues to be a major area of focus for our research, and we are committed to making our medicines available at no profit in those countries hardest hit by this epidemic," said the Mylan country manager, Geoffrey Ngwira, in his presentation. "Given the complexities of this disease, and the unique challenges in delivering care and treatment in resource limited settings, we recognise the need to work together and combine our expertise to find innovative solutions," Ngwira said.
Efforts to get clarity on the new drug as well as the finalisation of the guidelines proved futile.
Source: http://allafrica.com/stories/201210180608.html
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