Hetero, one of India’s leading generic pharmaceutical companies and world’s largest producer of anti-retroviral drugs, announced the launch of the first generic fixed-dose combination (FDC) of ‘emtricitabine (200mg) and tenofovir alafenamide (25mg) in India. The product has been approved by Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) and will be marketed and distributed under the brand name ‘Tafero-EM’ by Hetero Healthcare Ltd.

The FDC drug ‘emtricitabine and tenofovir alafenamide’ is an anti-retroviral medication which is indicated in combination with other anti-retroviral agents for the treatment of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV-1) infection in adults and paediatric patients 12 years of age and older. The FDC drug ‘emtricitabine and tenofovir alafenamide’ helps to control HIV infection, decreasing the amount of HIV in the patient’s body. This lowers the chances of getting other HIV complications and thereby improves their quality of life.

Studies suggests that emtricitabine and tenofovir alafenamide are key anti-retroviral agents which has shown high antiviral efficacy and better safety profile in HIV patients. This combination represents the new generation HIV treatment and is recommended by various international guidelines as a preferred dual-NRTI backbone along with a third agent.