Pharmaceutical company Matrix Laboratories Ltd on Friday said it signed a licensing agreement with Gilead for manufacture and sale of a generic version of Tenofovir Disoproxil Fumarate, an anti-AIDS therapy.
Tenofovir is a drug for second-line treatment of HIV/AIDS and was recently endorsed by WHO for first-line treatment as well, Matrix informed the Bombay Stock Exchange.
The company would have access to Gilead's technology for manufacture and sale of Tenofovir in 95 countries including India, it added.
In addition, the company would be able to make cost-saving modifications to the technology to enable improved access to the developing world. The company would also have the right to develop combination therapies using Tenofovir to enhance the effectiveness of existing therapies.
This license further boosts the company's significant portfolio of anti-retroviral APIs developed for combating HIV/AIDS.
Tenofovir is characterised by low incidence of resistance as compared to other first-line therapies.
Shares of the company were trading at Rs 269, down 0.20 per cent at the BSE.