Generic tenofovir licensed in South Africa

The Medicines Control Council in South Africa has registered tenofovir and the fixed dose combination of tenofovir/FTC.

The Treatment Action Campaign newsletter decribes this as an important step forward for providing better medicines to people with HIV. However, they also say that prices at which Aspen Pharmacare is selling these medicines is far too high. They are selling tenofovir at Rand 199.29 (approximately $30 USD) per patient per month and the combination pill of tenofovir and FTC at R329.89 per patient per month. This is higher than the price at which patients were previously accessing it under Section 21 Authorisation.

Tenofovir is not patented in South Africa and TAC urge other companies to apply to register tenofovir so that competition drives the price down.

TAC also urges the South African Department of Health to revise the antiretroviral treatment guidelines to include tenofovir so that it becomes available in the public health system.

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