FDA Approval of Generic ARVs

Since the last issue of HTB, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted full and tentative approval for the following new generic ARV products.

Drug and formulation	Manufacturer, Country	Approval date
AZT/3TC/nevirapine FDC scored tablets (60 mg/30 mg/50 mg) for oral suspension, for children weighing 5 to 25 kg.	Strides Arcolab, India	21 Sep 2012
* full approval; FDC: Fixed Dose Combination

"Tentative Approval" means that FDA has concluded that a drug product has met all required quality, safety and efficacy standards, but because of existing patents and/or exclusivity rights, it cannot yet be marketed in the United States. Tentative approval does, however make the product eligible for consideration for purchase under the PEPFAR program for use outside the United States.

Fixed Dose Combinations are reviewed for PEPFAR under the FDA guidance titled "Fixed Dose Combinations, Co-Packaged Drug Products, and Single-Entity Versions of Previously approved Antiretrovirals for the Treatment of HIV". This document was developed to clarify what regulatory requirements apply to such applications, what issues might be of concern, and how these issues should be addressed. The guidance is intended to encourage sponsors to submit applications for combination and co-packaged products, and to facilitate submission of such applications to FDA.

www.fda.gov/downloads/Drugs/GuidanceComplianceRegulatoryInformation/Guidances/UCM079742.pdf

Effective patent dates are listed in the agency's publication titled Approved Drug Products with Therapeutic Equivalence Evaluations, also known as the Orange Book: www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/cder/ob/default.cfm

An updated list of generic tentative approvals (now at 140) is available on the FDA website: www.fda.gov/oia/pepfar.htm

Source: FDA list serve: www.fda.gov/InternationalPrograms/FDABeyondOurBordersForeignOffices/AsiaandAfrica/ucm119231.htm