WHO adds 10 Indian-made AIDS drugs to prequalification list

The World Health Organization (WHO) said Friday that it has reinstated seven anti-AIDS generic drugs made by Ranbaxy Laboratories Ltd. of India to its list of prequalified medicines.

At the same time, three new products made by Aurobindo Pharma Ltd. of India have also been added to the list, the UN health agency said in a statement.

The WHO removed three of Ranbaxy's seven drugs from the list of generic anti-AIDS medicines recommended for use in developing countries in August 2004, saying that they had not been proved to be equivalent to patented drugs.

Ranbaxy, India's top drug-maker, then withdrew the other four medicines from the WHO list in November.

"Subsequently, WHO ran the full range of quality, safety and efficacy checks on the medicines as well as thorough inspections of the new laboratories. The products and laboratories were all found to be satisfactory," the UN agency said in Friday's statement.

The WHO said the addition of the 10 medicines will benefit existing AIDS programs and procurement schemes.

Currently, approximately 6.5 million people in low- and middle-income countries need anti-AIDS drugs, according to the Geneva-based agency.

Source: Xinhua