美国的吉利德面临来自孟加拉国的灯塔制药竞争

StephenW

US’ Gilead faces competition from Bangladesh’s Beacon pharmaThe challenger Beacon produces first generic version of Gilead’s newly launched Epclusa — a drug used to treat all types of Hepatitis C
DIVYA RAJAGOPAL  |  ET Bureau  |   Jul 27, 2016, 08.11 AM IST

                  MUMBAI: In a classic David Vs Goliath case, the US-based drugmaker Gilead that has made billions of dollars over its blockbuster range of Hepatitis C drugs is facing an unconventional challenger. Beacon Pharma, a little known Bangladeshi drugmaker, has emerged as the David to the Goliath that Gilead is.

Beacon has become the first generic drug company in the world to produce copycat versions of Gilead's newly launched Epclusa (Sofosbuvir + Velpatasvir) — a drug used to treat all types of Hepatitis C infections. One of the revolutionary drugs, Epclusa has a cure rate of 95 per cent, but with a tag of $75,000 it is considered out of reach to even the wealthy.

Beacon, going by its past launches of Hep C drugs, will look at pricing the drug 10x less than that of its originator. "Our brand will be known as SOFOSVEL, this will be the first generic launch of this drug," said Monjul Alam, senior vice-president, Beacon Pharma, to ET over a telephonic chat from Dhaka.

The combination of Sofosbuvir+ Velpatasvir which was approved by the USFDA in June is considered as a path breaking therapy that can be used by even the harshest genotype of patients suffering from the disease. Gilead, which has faced flak for its pricing of other Hep C drugs, has priced this drug lower than its other products. For over 90 low income countries, Gilead has given voluntary licenses to 12 Indian generic makers who are allowed to sell its drugs, in return of a royalty fee. The emergence of companies like Beacon, medical experts say, is also a result of unaffordability of these drugs even in developed nations.

"There is bound to be crossborder movement of any goods that costs $1 in one country and $1,000 in other," said Andrew Hill, Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics of University of Liverpool.

Beacon is hoping to reach out to patients from 45 countries across the world, including India, through its patient support programme which allows patients to directly purchase the drug through the manufacturer.

There are several Hep C buyers' clubs that have emerged across the world where patients who are unable to afford the costly versions in their home countries, travel to Bangladesh and India to buy the drugs for themselves and fellow patients.

StephenW

美国的吉利德面临来自孟加拉国的灯塔制药竞争
挑战者灯塔产生Gilead公司新近推出的Epclusa的第一个通用版本 - 用于治疗各种肝炎C.DIVYA RAJAGOPAL的药品| ET局| 2016年7月27日，上午08时11 IST

孟买：在一个典型的大卫VS歌利亚的情况下，美国的制药商吉利德已经超过丙型肝炎药物的拳头产品范围作出数十亿美元正面临着一个非常规的挑战者。灯塔制药，一个鲜为人知的孟加拉制药公司，已经成为了大卫对巨人的基列是。

灯塔已经成为第一个仿制药公司在世界上产生Gilead公司新近推出的Epclusa（索非布韦+ Velpatasvir）的山寨版本 - 用于治疗所有类型的丙型肝炎感染的药物。一个革命性的药物，Epclusa有95％的治愈率，但有$ 75,000的标记它被认为是遥不可及到连富裕。

灯塔，其过去的丙肝药物的推出去，将着眼于定价药品相比，其发端的10倍以下。 “我们的品牌将被称为SOFOSVEL，这将是第一个通用推出的这款药，”Monjul阿拉姆，高级副总裁，灯塔制药，以ET在从达卡电话聊天说。

在6月份批准了美国食品药品管理局索非布韦+ Velpatasvir的组合被认为是可以通过的，即使患这种病的患者最严厉的基因型中使用的开创性治疗。 Gilead公司，已经面临着高射炮的其他丙肝药物定价，已反映这种药物比其他产品低。在过去的90低收入国家，Gilead公司已自愿给予牌照，谁被允许出售的药物，在版权费收益12印度仿制药生产商。像灯塔公司的出现，医学专家说，也就是即使在发达国家，这些药物的负担不起的结果。

“有必然是花费$ 1一个国家和其他$ 1,000任何商品的跨国流动，”安德鲁·希尔，药理学和利物浦大学的治疗科说。

灯塔是希望来自世界各地的45个国家，其中包括印度接触到的患者，通过患者支持计划，让患者直接通过厂家购买的药物。

有几个丙肝买家已经出现在世界各地的俱乐部，其中谁是病人无法负担昂贵的版本在本国，前往孟加拉国和印度购买药品，为自己和病友。