WHO approves AIDS drug combination

The World Health Organisation has approved the use of a three-in-one combination AIDS treatment pill under a new plan to rush antiretroviral (ARV) medicines to three million people in developing countries. WHO officials said that the drugs which are the key to its ambitious goal of getting ARVs to the world's poor, include lamivudine, stavudine and nevirapine. These generic drugs are being made by India's Ranbaxy Laboratories and Cipla Limited.WHO Assistant Director-General Jack Chow said that research is helping to simplify AIDS therapy and WHO now recommends just four treatment regimens, instead of the 35 regimens previously recommended. Of these four, the most appropriate regimen for people living in deep poverty is a 'fixed-dose' combination therapy that combines three drugs in a pill that needs to be taken twice a day. The exciting development of single pills containing all three drugs will make treatment even simpler.WHO has pre-qualified three preparations of this three drug combination pill. Pre-qualification means that the WHO experts have visited and inspected the factories making the pills and are satisfied that the product is safe, effective and of good quality. It is the first time that WHO has approved the use of a three-in-one combination pill that is suitable for what WHO terms 'front-line' conditions of extreme poverty.

WHO is not a global regulator of pharmaceutical production but its recommendations guide government policy makers around the world, and government purchasers feel confident buying products that have the WHO seal of approval. The patents for lamivudine, stavudine and nevirapine are controlled by multinational drug companies Glaxo-SmithKline Plc, Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. and Boehringer Ingelheim, respectively.

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