Cipla wins $189 m Global Fund tender for AIDS drugs

Contract is effective from January 1 and will run for 3 years

February 13, 2015 11:01 pm | Updated 11:01 pm IST - MUMBAI:

Cipla has been committed to the cause of HIV/AIDS for over two decades, and this tender offers us a great opportunity to make HIV/AIDS treatment accessible to more than 140 countries through the Global Fund, says Cipla global CEO and Managing Director Subhanu Saxena. A pharmacist near a tablet counting machine at a Cipla manufacturing unit on the outskirts of Mumbai. File photo

Cipla has been committed to the cause of HIV/AIDS for over two decades, and this tender offers us a great opportunity to make HIV/AIDS treatment accessible to more than 140 countries through the Global Fund, says Cipla global CEO and Managing Director Subhanu Saxena. A pharmacist near a tablet counting machine at a Cipla manufacturing unit on the outskirts of Mumbai. File photo

In a significant development in the treatment of AIDS patients, Cipla has been awarded $188.95 million (around Rs.1,172 crore) of Global Fund ARV (anti-retroviral) tender.

A statement from Cipla said it had been selected as a ‘Panel Supplier’ for a supplier partnership agreement.

The contract is effective from January 1 and will run for three years.

The supplies are to commence from the fourth quarter of this fiscal.

“Cipla has been committed to the cause of HIV/AIDS for over two decades, and this tender offers us a great opportunity to make HIV/AIDS treatment accessible to more than 140 countries through the Global Fund,” Cipla global CEO and Managing Director Subhanu Saxena said in the statement.

The ARVs will be made at Cipla’s manufacturing facilities in India. Created in 2002, the Global Fund operates as a partnership between governments, civil society, private sector and people affected by diseases such as AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria. It raises and invests nearly $4 billion annually to support programmes in more than 140 countries.

Cipla has been associated with the Global Fund since 2002, having been one of the suppliers awarded with a long-term contract to supply anti-malarial drugs.

Joint venture in Algeria

In a separate development, Cipla, along with its existing partner Biopharm SPA, is establishing a joint venture in Algeria to make and market respiratory products.

As per the term sheet, Cipla’s fully-owned subsidiary, Cipla (EU), will hold 40 per cent stake with the balance held by Biopharm-led Algerian consortium.

The joint venture will invest up to $15 million in a facility with Cipla’s initial investment being around $6 million.

Earlier on Thursday, Cipla said it had entered a definitive agreement to buy 60 per cent stake in Mumbai-based Jay Precision Pharmaceuticals for Rs.96 crore.

Jay already supplies respiratory devices to Cipla with a facility in Vasai, Maharashtra.

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