A KENYAN-BASED pharmaceutical company Universal Corporation will start manufacturing antiretroviral drugs (ARVs) by the end of this month after winning a tender to supply the government with four million tablets of Lamozid.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) last year gave a pre-qualification certificate to Universal Corporation to manufacture generics in what could potentially push down the cost of HIV/Aids medicine, enabling more people to access the life-prolonging drugs.

The tender, through the Kenya Medical Supplies Agency will see more 400, 000 Kenyans HIV patients who don’t use ARVs, access them. WHO estimates that 1.5 million Kenyans are infected with HIV with only 600,000 on ARVs.

“Lamizid, one of 255 drugs certified by WHO, will be produced in 150- and 300-gramme doses,” Universal Corporation managing director Palu Dhanani said.

Kenya is currently facing a reduction of funding from the US President’s Emergency Plan for Aids Relief and two consecutive rejections by the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria due to questionable accounting and management of funds.
According to the Kenya National Aids Strategic Plan, Kenya will have a financing gap of about $1.7 billion for HIV prevention, treatment and care by 2013.

Kenya relies mostly on donors for its HIV medicines and imports more from India, but the high cost of importation has made it difficult for the government to put all those who need it on treatment.

Universal Corporation is the second firm in East Africa to receive the WHO prequalification to manufacture ARVs, after Luziria Drug Factory in Uganda which is owned by Quality Chemicals in conjunction with Indian pharmaceutical giant Cipla.