Laurus Labs gains on pact with Unitaid, CHAI for pediatric version of HIV drug

Laurus Labs advanced 1.41% to Rs 655 in trade today after the company, along with Unitaid and the Clinton Health Access Initiative, announced an agreement to accelerate development of second and third-line HIV medication for children.

Unitaid is a global health agency engaged in finding innovative solutions to prevent, diagnose, and treat diseases more quickly, cheaply, and effectively, in low- and middle-income countries. Its work includes funding initiatives to address major diseases such as HIV/AIDs, malaria, and tuberculosis, as well as HIV co-infections and co-morbidities such as cervical cancer and hepatitis C, and cross-cutting areas, such as fever management.

The Clinton Health Access Initiative, Inc. (CHAI) is a global health organization committed to saving lives and reducing the burden of disease in low-and middle-income countries.

The aim of the agreement between Laurus Labs, Unitaid and CHAI is to speed up the development, commercialization, and registration of HIV treatment darunavir boosted with ritonavir (DRV/r). DRV/r is a protease inhibitor that has been shown to effectively treat HIV in children who are just beginning treatment, or whose treatment is no longer working.

Despite being available in high-income countries for over a 15-year period, a generic, fixed-dose combination pediatric version of DRV/r is still not available. Through this agreement, Unitaid and CHAI are working with the company to finally address this critical need and ensure CLHIV (children living with HIV/AIDS) have access to high-quality second- and third-line HIV treatment.

Second- and third-line therapies are critical for CLHIV where the World Health Organization (WHO)-recommended first-line treatment dolutegravir (DTG) may not be an option due to medication resistance or intolerance. Currently available second- and third-line treatments are often difficult for children to take due to bitter taste and difficult forms of administration.

The product development collaboration between Unitaid, CHAI, and Laurus Labs was spearheaded through Unitaid's investment in CHAI since 2016 to bring the HIV medications to market more quickly and integrate them into treatment programs in low- and middle-income countries that need them the most.

Understanding the small market size for a pediatric version of DRV/r, the initiative has provided Laurus with a financial incentive for a portion of their development and commercialization costs.

CHAI will work closely with Laurus Labs to provide technical and regulatory support to enable accelerated generic development and regulatory submission of the medication.

Commenting on the collaboration in development of the new second line and third line pediatric treatment, Dr. Satyanarayana Chava, founder & CEO, Laurus Labs, said, We are excited about this innovative mechanism to accelerate the availability of pDRV/r regimen for children living with HIV.

The collaboration between Laurus Labs, CHAI, and Unitaid can positively impact over 100,000 CLHIVs and help them in leading a better life especially in their formative years.

Laurus Labs is a leading research-driven pharmaceutical manufacturing company in India. It has grown to become one of the leading manufacturers of API for Anti-Retroviral (ARV), oncology, cardiovascular, anti-diabetics, anti-asthma, and gastroenterology.

The company's consolidated net profit rose 40.52% to Rs 241.39 crore on a 31.22% increase in net sales to Rs 1278.50 crore in Q1 FY22 over Q1 FY21.

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