GlaxoSmithKline announced plans Tuesday to invest as much as 60 million pounds ($98 million) to improve R&D and access to HIV/AIDS medications for children in Sub-Saharan Africa. The commitments include seeking partnerships with other companies to develop fixed-dose combination treatments for children and adults, and extending the drugmaker’s voluntary licensing policy to include Ziagen (abacavir).

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The company said it is in the process of reviewing its portfolio to determine the “technical feasibility and medical benefit” of developing new fixed-dose combination therapies with other currently available HIV drugs. Regarding Ziagen, GlaxoSmithKline explained that it agreed to a new, voluntary, non-exclusive licence agreement with Aspen Pharmacare for the manufacture of a generic version of the drug, and indicated it will not impose royalties for the licence “in an effort to help reduce prices further.”

GlaxoSmithKline stated it would give 10 million pounds in funding to support a public-private partnership approach for the research and development of antiretrovirals for paediatric use, as well as invest up to 50 million pounds over 10 years to fund non-governmental and other organisations in efforts to prevent mother-to-child transmission of HIV in developing countries, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa.

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The company said the initiatives build on previously announced plans to broaden access to certain of its drugs in the developing world, which included the donation of drug patents related to neglected diseases.

Source: FirstWord

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