TANZANIA TO BEGIN HOMEGROWN ARV PRODUCTION

Tanzania is to become the first country in East Africa to produce its own front line HIV/AIDS treatments. Tanzania Pharmaceutical Industry (TPI) will manufacture an cocktail of stavudine, lamivudine and nevirapine.

The ARVs will cost around TZS15,000 (US$13.13) to TZS20,000 (US$17.51) for a month's supply. Tanzania has an estimated 1.6mn HIV/AIDS sufferers, with victims of the disease accounting for roughly 60% of hospital beds in the country.

The new facility follows ambitious plans to treat 500,000 sufferers free of charge by 2010. Reports also note that the unit has been developed in co-operation with Thailand's state-owned manufacturer GPO, which recently announced the start of homegrown ARV production of leading patented anti-AIDS drugs.