China to Produce Generic AIDS Drugs

In Shanghai Tuesday, drug maker Shanghai Desano Bio-Pharmaceutical Co. said it had received approval from China's top regulatory body to manufacture and sell Didanosine (ddI) and Stavudine (d4T). Both drugs were developed by New York-based Bristol-Myers Squibb, whose spokesperson said the approved generic versions do not infringe on the pharmaceutical company's numerous patents in China. Zhang Junjie of the Chinese firm said it had also applied for permission to produce Nevirapine, which would allow it to manufacture a generic version of the AIDS cocktail and cut the cost of therapy to $600 annually per patient from the current cost of $3,600 to $12,000 for imported drugs. Last month, Chinese regulators granted Northeast Pharmaceutical Group a license to sell its generic version of Zidovudine (AZT), a GlaxoSmithKline-developed drug whose patent has expired in China. At least a dozen other Chinese firms, including Desano, have plans to produce similar AZT drugs.

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