Gilead Extends Licensing Deals with Indian Generics Firms

Gilead Sciences is licensing four medicines for HIV/AIDS to Indian generic drugmakers to give developing countries access to cheaper HIV drugs.

California-based Gilead Sciences is licensing four medicines for HIV/AIDS to generic drugmakers to give developing countries access to cheaper HIV/AIDS treatments.

The company has widened its licensing deals with four India-based drug manufacturers – Hetero Drugs, Matrix Laboratories, Ranbaxy Laboratories and Strides Arcolab – for three drugs currently in late-stage clinical development. Gilead has also entered a licensing agreement with the Medicines Patent Pool Foundation (the Pool).

As per the agreement, the Indian manufacturers and the Pool will market the generic HIV/AIDS medicines Viread (tenofovir disoproxil fumarate, or TDF) and Truvada (emtricitabine/tenofovir disoproxil fumarate), as well elvitegravir