Three Indian firms, Aurobindo Pharma, Cipla and Ranbaxy, have received a lion's share of over 85 per cent in the US government's latest fiscal funding for AIDS treatment in poor countries to the generic drugmakers across the world.
The US President George Bush's programme to provide AIDS treatment in poor countries, Pepfar, is now dominated by Indian generic drugmakers, a Wall Street Journal report said.
Generic drugs accounted for 57 per cent of the $ 131 million the US spent on the programme in fiscal 2007, the report said citing data from the Office of the US Global AIDS Coordinator.
This marks a significant surge from 11 per cent generics accounted for in the programme's funding. Indian generic drugmaker Aurobindo Pharma was the biggest player in fiscal 2007, ended on September 30, with the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (Pepfar) spending over $ 39 million on the company's products to fight HIV and AIDS.
Two other Indian firms Cipla and Ranbaxy received over $ 15 million and nearly$ 9 million respectively, the report said.
The three Indian companies together received over $ 63 million ,out of close to $ 75 million granted to all the generic drugmakers across the world.
Among other companies, South Africa's Aspen Pharmacare received nearly $ 13 million from Pepfar. Pepfar's spending on brand-name drugs totaled about $ 56 million in fiscal year 2007, down from $ 106 million in 2005, the report said, adding that Merck is understood to be the biggest recipient of funds worth around $ 16 million.
