Pharmaceutical Firms May Combine Anti-HIV Drugs

Bristol-Myers Squibb, Gilead Sciences Inc. and Merck & Co. said Sunday that they were in talks to develop a combination of three anti-HIV drugs after U.S. officials urged drug companies to provide better treatment options in developing countries.

The companies said the once-daily, fixed-dose combination would include Viread and Emtriva, both Gilead drugs.

It would also include efavirenz, which is marketed in the United States, Canada and certain European countries by Bristol-Myers as Sustiva and elsewhere by Merck as Stocrin.

The move follows statements by Secretary of Health and Human Services Tommy G. Thompson calling on drug companies to develop new combination products that would make often complicated drug regimens easier.

Thompson also announced an expedited approval process for the combination drugs.

“We are clearing the way to quickly deliver quality, life-saving HIV/AIDS drugs to people who desperately need them in developing countries,” Thompson told a news conference.

Pharmaceutical companies that make HIV drugs have often been criticized for not providing the drugs cheaply or free in developing countries. In recent years, many have bowed to public pressure and lowered costs in the developing world.

Big drug makers generally do not make much money from the sale of HIV drugs.

However, Foster City, Calif.-based Gilead has seen large profit from Viread, its flagship HIV drug.

Gilead, Merck and Bristol-Myers said they were also considering certain co-packaging options for the individual products.

In a related announcement, GlaxoSmithKline and Germany’s Boehringer Ingelheim said they were in talks to assess co-packaging of antiretroviral drugs for the treatment of HIV.