U.S. Approves Use of Cheaper AIDS Drug Overseas
Filed at 4:16 p.m. ET
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. health officials Thursday granted tentative approval for a generic liquid version of the AIDS drug AZT, allowing it to be used overseas under a U.S. program to fight the deadly virus.
The generic oral version of GlaxoSmithKline Plc's drug zidovudine, made by India-based drugmaker Aurobindo Pharma Ltd., is the latest in a string of approvals for the program.
However, the generic drug will not be available in the United States because of patent protections.
President Bush launched a five-year, $15 billion program in 2003 aims to pay for treatment for 2 million AIDS sufferers and provide care for 10 million others in 15 countries, mostly in Africa.
Glaxo sells its drug under the name Retrovir, or AZT. The nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor helps keep the AIDS virus from multiplying.
Aurobindo's version of AZT meets the FDA's standards, the agency said, making it eligible for purchase and use in other countries under the Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief.
The agency approved Indian drugmaker Ranbaxy Laboratories Ltd's generic version of AZT in July as part of the U.S. program.
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