California-based Gilead Sciences is hopeful of making its license agreements with 10 Indian companies for its HIV drugs, the model for marketing other drugs in future, national daily, The Hindu, reported in New Delhi Monday.

"Making drugs for life-threatening diseases available to resource constrained sub-Saharan African countries has been a particular challenge for western companies. We believe that Indian pharma companies with their cost advantage, manufacturing capacities and distribution can help our drugs reach these markets, " the newspaper quoted Gregg Alton, senior vice-president and general counsel, Gilead Sciences, as saying.

The agreements cover two drugs, Emtriva (emtricitabine) and Viread (tenofovirdisproxil fumarate), and allows the Indian partners to make any combination of the drugs and fix the market price.

The Indian partners include Aurobindo Pharma, Hetero Drugs, Matrix and Ranbaxy.

Gilead, which gets a five percent royalty, is hopeful of seeing the Indian drugs reach the markets in the next three to six months.

If the model is successful, it hopes to replicate it around the world and for other drugs in future, the newspaper said.

Source: Xinhua