FDA approval of generic ARVs: nevirapine and Combivir now off-patent in the US
1 June 2012. Related: Treatment access.
Since the last issue of HTB, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted approval or tentative approval for the following new generic ARV products.
| Drug and formulation | Manufacturer, Country | Approval date |
|---|---|---|
| Lopinavir/ritonavir 200 mg / 50 mg combined tablets | Hetero, India | 23 May 2012 |
| Nevirapine 200 mg tablets ** | 10 manufacturers:Apotex, Canada
Aurobindo, India Cipla, India Hetero, India Matrix, India Micro, India Mylan, US/India Prinston Pharma, US ScieGen Pharma, US Strides, India |
22 May 2012 |
| Nevirapine oral suspension ** | Aurobindo, India | 22 May 2012 |
| AZT/3TC combination tablets, 300 mg / 150 mg ** | Lupin, India | 15 May 2012 |
| AZT/3TC combination tablets, 300 mg / 150 mg ** | Aurobindo, India | 15 May 2012 |
| Nevirapine scored tablets for oral suspension: 50 mg and 100 mg (for children >5 kg) | Cipla, India | 30 April 2012 |
Key: ** 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 US. Tentative approval does, however make the product eligible for consideration for purchase under the PEPFAR program for use outside the US.
Full approval (**) indicates that these formulations can be marketed in the US because the patent for the orginial drug has now expired.
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.
http://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:
http://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:
http://www.fda.gov/oia/pepfar.htm
comment
The most notable developments this year have been the full license approvals that allows marketing in the US for generic versions of nevirapine and the combined formulation of AZT/3TC.
Generic versions of AZT, 3TC and nevirapine are already used in some European countries. For nevirapine this includes Ireland, Spain and Portugal, although for reasons that are not clear, UK access is not expected until 2013.
Source: FDA list serve: