Gilead Shares HIV Drug Technology

Gilead Sciences will allow several generic drug firms to make and sell its HIV medicine emtricitabine, marketed as Emtriva, as well as fixed-dose combinations of emtricitabine with other HIV medicines, in developing countries. Gilead will transfer the manufacturing technology for emtricitabine to Mylan Laboratories, Ranbaxy Laboratories, and Strides Arcolab and provide funding to help the generic drug firms improve the manufacturing process, thereby lowering the cost of the medication. The goal is for Gilead’s Indian partners to produce high-enough volumes of the fixed-dose combinations of regimens containing emtricitabine to achieve price parity with widely used HIV regimens containing lamivudine.