Roche will provide additional technical expertise that will allow pharmaceutical manufacturers in poor countries to produce generic versions of HIV/AIDS drugs, including its Fortovase (saquinavir).

The drugmaker also will continue to refrain from enforcing its patents on HIV/AIDS drugs in sub-Saharan Africa and the world's least developed countries, which make up 69 percent of all people living with the disease, Roche said recently. These countries include: Afghanistan; Angola; Bangladesh; Somalia; South Africa; Yemen; Zambia and Zimbabwe.

A new Roche technical assistance team is being established and will be fully operational from the second quarter of 2006, the firm said. The team will be based in part on the ground in Africa, as much of the knowledge and skill sharing will be undertaken onsite at the local manufacturer's production facilities. The team also will be located in part at the global headquarters in Basel, Switzerland, the company said.

"We have taken this unique step, which is unlike any initiative undertaken by Roche, to help ensure that the right medicines in the right formulation are available locally," said William Burns, CEO of Roche Pharmaceuticals. "We want to use the knowledge we have developed to help strengthen local manufacturing capability and hope to help as many manufacturers as possible in these hardest hit countries by sharing our knowledge, so that they can learn and benefit from our technology."