The Hindu Business Line : Hetero Drugs may bag Congo order for anti-AIDS drug

RAVAGED by the AIDS epidemic, the Democratic Republic of Congo has shown interest in sourcing anti-retroviral (ARV) drugs from Hetero Drugs Ltd.The Rs 550-crore company based in Hyderabad specialises in ARV drugs.

Addressing a press conference here after a visit to Hetero Drug's manufacturing facilities, the Vice-President of Congo, Mr Zahidi Arthur Ngoma, said HIV/AIDS was more prevalent in the African countries and was one of the pandemic diseases currently being faced in his country.

In efforts to combat this dreaded disease, a high-power delegation headed by him was on a visit to Hyderabad and held discussions with Hetero Drugs management, he said. Mr Ngoma said his Government has invited a delegation of Hetero Drugs to join hands in fighting the disease.

"We hope to finalise the details of the partnership with Hetero Drugs once their team visits Congo," Mr Ngoma said. Stating that the delegation has not visited any other pharmaceutical manufacturing facility in India for ARV drugs, he, however, did not rule out the possibility of entering into partnerships with other ARV drug companies in India in future.

According to the Hetero Drugs Director, Marketing, Mr M. Srinivas Reddy, the company has already tied-up with Aspen Pharma Care, a South Africa-based leader in generics, for the supply of ARV drugs. The company has already consolidated its presence in Latin American countries such as Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Peru, Uruguay, Cuba, North American countries such as Columbia, Mexico and Asian countries such as Thailand, Bangladesh and Iran.

"Having delivered a range of 14 anti-retroviral drugs at Indian prices, our vision now is to create strategic partnerships in the fight against AIDS in more and more countries across the globe. These partnerships are genuinely envisaged with service-oriented non-governmental organisations around the world," Mr Reddy said.

Through continuous research with cost-effective processes, Hetero has successfully brought down the prices of ARV drugs from $5,500 per kg in 1996 to as low as $550 per kg in 1998, Mr Reddy said.

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