News (Updated
December 4, 2011)
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Thu, Dec 1 2011
* Drug combination can be
used as second-line treatment option
* Eligible to purchase in
certain developing countries
* Shares hit one-month
high
Dec 1 (Reuters) - Generic
drugmaker Mylan Inc said
The combination of the
drugs Atazanavir Sulfate and Ritonavir, an antiretroviral (ARV), is a
second-line treatment option for HIV/AIDS and can also be used along with other
ARVs, the company said.
Atazanavir and Ritonavir
are the generic versions of Bristol-Myers Squibb's Reyataz and Abbott
Laboratories' Norvir, respectively.
The drug combination works
by blocking the activity of human immunodeficiency viruses causing AIDS in the
body. However, it cannot treat the disease.
"This 'combo' helps
to facilitate treatment compliance for HIV/AIDS patients by providing a
convenient, once-a-day dosing option, while reducing the cost of treatment for
patients," Mylan president Heather Bresch said in a statement.
According to the United
Nations, at the end of 2008, 33.4 million people were living with HIV, with an
additional 2.7 million getting infected with the disease each year.
The U.S. Food and Drug
Administration approved Mylan's therapy on Thursday -- on World AIDS Day --
through the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief.
It will be eligible for
purchase in certain developing countries, Mylan said.
Shares of Canonsburg,
Pennsylvania-based Mylan were up 1.28 percent at $19.78 in afternoon trading on
Nasdaq. They touched a one-month high of $19.96 earlier in the day.