Ukraine has received a license for an important drug for HIV treatment

Today, on July 26, 2017, the Medicines Patent Pool announced the license extension for Atazanavir (ATV) for Ukraine and 11 other countries. This protease inhibitor is recommended by WHO for HIV treatment as a second-line drug. Compared with the main alternative drug (lopinavir), ATV has certain advantages, such as smaller number of side effects, being taken once a day, and easier manufacturing, which leads to lower prices. Atazanavir is also prescribed for pregnant women with detection of HIV+ status for the first time.

The agreement for the distribution and production of Atazanavir was reached with the pharmaceutical company Bristol-Myers Squibb.

“Five factories can supply the generic version of Atazanavir in the framework of this license. Thus, it is possible to predict a high competition for this drug that will lead to a sufficiently competitive price for Ukraine,” said Serhiy Dmitriev, Policy and Advocacy Director of the All-Ukrainian Network of PLWH.

In total, the license is valid in 122 middle- and low-income countries. Besides Ukraine, the license for the sale and production of Atazanavir now extends to Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia, Egypt, Indonesia, the Philippines, Vietnam, Equatorial Guinea, and other countries with up to 1.4 million people living with HIV.