A new locally-manufactured, generic anti-Aids drug - up to 41 percent cheaper than the original - was launched in Pretoria on Wednesday.
Manufacturer Aspen Pharmacare said it hoped the drug - Aspen-Stavudine - would eventually form part of a cocktail for Aids patients costing less than $1 (about R7) a day.
It has, to this end, applied to the Medicines Control Council (MCC) to be allowed to also manufacture generics of the drugs Didanosine, Combivir, AZT, 3TC and nevirapine.
Aspen-Stavudine is used to suppress HIV, preventing the immune system from destroying the white blood cells which are required to fight off opportunistic infections.
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No orders have been received yet It is used in combination with other drugs to attack the virus in different stages of its life-cycle - helping the patient to live a healthier life.
The drug was between 17 percent and 41 percent cheaper than its patented version, Zerit, which is produced by Bristol-Myers Squibb.
Different strengths of the drug would cost between R24 and R33,60 for a month's supply, compared to R40,54 for Zerit. This was compared to a monthly cost of about R300 for nevirapine - a similar drug, an official said.
Aspen-Stavudine, the first generic anti-retroviral developed and manufactured in Africa, would be available immediately across the continent. The public and private sectors would be charged the same price.
Aspen Pharmacare chief executive officer Stephen Saad said the company was proud to have developed a home-grown solution to a largely African problem.
'This is the start of a great process' Of about 44 million HIV and Aids-infected people worldwide, about 75 percent lived in sub-Saharan Africa.
"This (drug) will form one element of a multi-faceted solution to containing the pandemic, the others including inter alia appropriate nutrition, education, prophylaxis and other measures undertaken in government's integrated HIV/Aids strategy."
The company's chief operating officer, Linda Phillip, said no orders have been received yet, but much interest has been shown.
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