Bristol-Myers Squibb Company (BMS) and Gilead Sciences, Inc. announced details of a joint venture to develop and commercialise the fixed-dose combination of Bristol-Myers Squibb's Sustiva (efavirenz) and Gilead's Truvada (emtricitabine and tenofovir disoproxil fumarate) in the United States. If approved, the new product would be the first complete Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy (HAART) treatment regimen for HIV available in a fixed-dose combination taken once daily. Fixed-dose combinations contain multiple medicines formulated together and may help simplify HIV therapy for patients and providers. The joint venture established by the two companies is the first of its kind in the field of HIV therapy.

The work necessary to co-formulate Sustiva and Truvada into a once-daily combination product has been ongoing throughout most of 2004 and will continue into 2005. Through the joint venture -- Bristol-Myers Squibb and Gilead Sciences, LLC -- the companies will work in partnership to complete development and US regulatory filings for this fixed-dose regimen. Subject to receiving marketing approval of the fixed-dose regimen, the companies would share responsibility for commercialising the product in the United States. Both companies will provide funding and field-based sales representatives in support of promotional efforts for the combination product. Bristol-Myers Squibb and Gilead will receive revenues from future net sales at percentages relative to the contribution represented by their individual products that comprise the fixed-dose combination.

Guidelines issued by the US Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) list the combination of emtricitabine, tenofovir disoproxil fumarate and efavirenz as one of the preferred non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor (NNRTI)-based treatments for use in appropriate patients that have never taken anti-HIV medicines before. It is important that patients be aware that individual HIV medications must be taken as part of combination regimens, and that they do not cure HIV infection or prevent passing HIV to others.

"Gilead and Bristol-Myers Squibb share a steadfast commitment to addressing the needs of people living with HIV/AIDS around the world, and today's announcement signals significant progress toward our common goal," commented John C. Martin, PhD, president and chief executive officer, Gilead Sciences. "This landmark partnership reflects the dedication Gilead and Bristol-Myers Squibb bring to delivering simplified therapy to physicians and patients. We look forward to working with the Bristol-Myers Squibb team to ensure this novel therapeutic advancement reaches physicians and people living with HIV/AIDS as rapidly as possible."

"For more than a decade, Bristol-Myers Squibb has been a leader in the field of HIV with significant investments in innovative scientific research and an unwavering commitment to finding new and better treatment options to help improve the lives of people with HIV," said Peter R Dolan, chairman and chief executive officer, Bristol-Myers Squibb Company. "We are pleased to be leveraging our leadership in HIV through this collaboration with Gilead to help advance the management of the disease through the development of potentially more convenient treatment options."

Earlier in 2004, US Secretary of Health and Human Services Tommy Thompson addressed the need for new products to help advance and simplify treatment for people with HIV/AIDS, encouraging members of industry to work together to create fixed-dose combinations that would help achieve these goals. Additionally, earlier this year the US Food and Drug Administration issued new guidelines to expedite the approval of new combination products for HIV.

"The availability of simplified treatment regimens for HIV/AIDS is important to our ability to make progress in the fight against the disease," Secretary Thompson said. "I am pleased to see the collaboration and efforts of Bristol-Myers Squibb and Gilead. This partnership to create a fixed-dose combination of three HIV medications represents an important advance in our collective effort to deliver simplified therapy for people living with HIV."