Brazil to produce generic AIDS and hepatitis drugs; refuses patent extensions

Brazil's health authority, ANVISA, has licensed the generic version of tenofovir to the official laboratory Fundacao Ezequiel Dias (Funed - run by the government of the state of Minas Gerais). This means nine million pills will begin to be produced as of next week, saving Brazil approximately 410 million reals ($244.7 million) by 2015. Currently, about 64,000 AIDS and 1,500 hepatitis patients in Brazil take tenofovir.

This has been made possible by a public-private partnership, facilitated by the Department of Science, Technology and Strategic Inputs (SCTIE) at the Ministry of Health. The first batch of Brazilian-made tenofovir will be available to patients in late March.

With the beginning of manufacturing, 10 of the 20 antiretroviral drugs provided by the Brazil's national Health Service (SUS) will be made in Brazil, reducing the cost of importing the drug by about 47% by 2015 and strengthening the country's autonomy in pharmaceutical production. The license also demonstrates the technical capacity available in Brazil and reaffirms its commitment to the sustainability of treatment for both diseases.