Mylan gets approval to launch HIV drug in India, says it will be priced “lower” than others

NEW DELHI: US drug maker Mylan has received approval to market antiretroviral (ARV) drug Avonza in India, the company said. The drug is recommended by the World Health Organisation (WHO) as an alternative first-line regimen for people treated for HIV/AIDS.

Mylan will be the first to offer this combination in India, said Rajiv Malik, the firm’s president. Avonza will be available to patients in India at “a cost that is lower” than that of other current first-line ARVs, he added.

At the same time, Mylan has not disclosed what the price of this drug would be in India and how much cheaper it will be than other first-line ARVs.

Mylan supplies life-saving ARVs to nearly 50% of patients being treated for HIV/AIDS in over 100 developing countries, the company stated in a release. The drug maker’s ARV portfolio includes 14 active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs)—the central ingredient in a drug that produces its therapeutic effect—and 50 finished formulations in first-line, second-line and pediatric formulations.

Around 21 lakh people are estimated to be living with HIV in India but only 14 lakh are known cases, according to the health ministry.

Around 6.5 per cent the estimated 21 lakh are children under the age of 15 years, stated Mylan.

In April 2017, the ministry launched a “Test and Treat” policy for HIV, under which anyone tested positive for HIV would get antiretroviral therapy irrespective of the clinical stage of their illness or their CD count (the number of cells that the HIV virus has killed).