Second Indian firm offers cut-price HIV drugs

Indian pharmaceutical company Hetero Drugs Limited is making stavudine, lamivudine, and nevirapine available to Doctors Without Borders (Medecins Sans Frontieres) at a price similar to that offered by Cipla, another Indian drug firm.

The issue of whether African countries have the economic capability to distribute AIDS drugs has lessened the impact that Cipla thoughts its offer would have. The inundation of generic AIDS drugs into South Africa is being held up by the country’s reluctance to declare AIDS a national emergency and the pharmaceutical industry’s initiative to block legislation allowing the importation of such products.