Matrix Laboratories and its US-based holding company Mylan Inc, and Pfizer have entered into agreement with president Clinton of Clinton Foundation to provide more affordable treatments for patients on 'second-line' antiretroviral (ARV) therapy for HIV/AIDS in the developing world. For the first time, a second-line regimen of four ARVs will be available for under $500 annually.

Matrix and Mylan will provide all four drugs - Atazanavir (ATV), Ritonavir (RTV), Tenofovir (TDF), and Lamivudine (3TC) - needed to enable once-daily treatment of patients who have developed resistance to standard first line ARVs. The four drugs will be available in three pills, with Tenofovir and Lamivudine combined into a single pill. The three pills are being made available today as separate products, with a total price of less than $425 annually starting in 2010.

These new products and prices will be available to governments that are members of the Clinton Foundation's Procurement Consortium across Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean. TDF plus 3TC is FDA approved and ATV and RTV are pending approval by the World health Organization (WHO). Additionally, the cost of a key drug for treating tuberculosis (TB) in patients using second-line ARVs has been reduced by Pfizer by 60 per cent, to $1 per dose for a full course of treatment over six months

Citing the importance of integrating HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis treatment, President Clinton also announced an agreement with Pfizer to reduce the price and expand the availability of rifabutin, a drug used to treat tuberculosis in patients taking second-line ARVs. This marks CHAI's first pricing agreement with a research-based pharmaceutical company, as well as its first pricing agreement on tuberculosis.

Robert J Coury, chairman of Mylan, said, "Ensuring sustainable access to effective treatments in the developing world is a critical element in the global fight against HIV/AIDS. Mylan and Matrix are proud to continue our commitment of creating and introducing innovative and affordable pharmaceutical solutions. This includes our 'second-line-in-a-box', which will reduce patient pill burden and facilitate patient compliance. Our affordable, heat-stable version of Ritonavir also represents another advance in the development of products that can withstand environmental conditions in parts of the world where treatment is desperately needed."

Jeffrey B. Kindler, chairman and CEO of Pfizer stated that, "Pfizer is pursuing numerous global health projects like this one with the Clinton HIV/AIDS Initiative to find new ways to connect people to the medicines they need. "We are working on innovative solutions to bring health care to customers who have often been neglected in the past and do this in a socially responsible, sustainable, and commercially viable way."

N Prasad, vice chairman of Matrix, added, "Enhancing the standards of care in the developing world is a top priority for Mylan and Matrix. Together we have done an extraordinary job developing a world-class ARV franchise in only a few years. Our efforts will continue along with other remarkable partner organizations such as CHAI."

If the new regimen is fully adopted, the new products and prices would enable cumulative cost savings of $400 million over the next five years, when compared with recent prices paid for alternative regimens.