Gilead signs eight generic Viread licenses

USA-based drugmaker Gilead Sciences has signed eight new non-exclusive license agreements with generic companies in India for its anti-HIV medicine Viread (tenofovir).

The deals grant the licensees, Alkem Laboratories, Aurobindo Pharma, FDC, JB Chemicals & Pharmaceuticals, Matrix Laboratories, Medchem International, Ranbaxy Laboratories and Shasun Chemicals & Drugs, the rights to produce and distribute generic versions of tenofovir disoproxil fumarate (tenofovir DF) to 95 low-income countries around the world, including India.

The license agreements require that the generic companies meet certain national and international regulatory standards and include a technology transfer to enable expeditious production of large volumes of high-quality generic versions of the nucleoside analog reverse transcriptase inhibitor. In addition, these agreements allow the manufacture of commercial quantities of both active pharmaceutical ingredient and finished product. In August, Gilead announced similar agreements with fellow India-based firms Emcure Pharmaceuticals, Hetero Drugs and Strides Arcolab.