The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted tentative approvals for two applications for nevirapine tablets manufactured by Ranbaxy Laboratories and Aurobindo Pharma Limited. These are the first generic versions of Viramune Tablets manufactured by Boehringer Ingelheim. These products will now be available for consideration for purchase under the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), a release from US FDA said.

The Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, which President Bush first announced in his 2003 State of the Union Address, is currently providing $15 billion to fight the HIV/AIDS pandemic over five years, with a special focus on 15 of the hardest hit countries. The PEPFAR plan is designed to prevent seven million new HIV infections, treat at least two million HIV-infected people, and care for ten million HIV-affected individuals, AIDS orphans and vulnerable children.