Aurobindo, Cipla, Viatris to make, market long-acting injectable HIV drug
This follows ViiV Healthcare, a company focused on HIV medicines and majority owned by GSK with Pfizer and Shionogi as shareholders, and Medicines Patent Pool (MPP) extending their voluntary licensing agreement to enable access to long-acting injectable HIV treatment.
It builds on the voluntary license for CAB LA for HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP). The announcement, on extending their agreement, comes in the wake of an updated guidance from World Health Organization (WHO) recommending long-acting injectable cabotegravir + rilpivirine as an HIV treatment option.
Existing licensees Aurobindo, Cipla and Viatris will consequently be able to develop, manufacture and supply generic versions of CAB LA, for use in combination with long-acting rilpivirine, for the treatment of HIV-1 infection in adults and adolescents weighing at least 35kg subject to required regulatory approvals being obtained, Aurobindo Pharma said on Tuesday.
Vice chairman and MD of Aurobindo Pharma K. Nithyananda Reddy said the company remains committed to leveraging its global supply capabilities to make the vital combination long-acting injection therapy widely available and affordable. The consideration by ViiV and MPP to include the private market in royalty-bearing countries is a critical step toward expanding access across both public and private sectors, he said.
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Summing it up well, Dr Joshi said, "We are in the best of times for chronic disease innovation. But we're also in the worst of times—if we let hype override science.'
