Mylan receives tentative FDA approval for paediatric formulations of abacavir/lamivudine through innovative collaboration with ViiV Healthcare and Clinton Health Access Initiative

LONDON and PITTSBURGH, Dec. 4, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Mylan Inc. (Nasdaq: MYL) today announced that its subsidiary Mylan Laboratories Limited has received tentative approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for its New Drug Applications (NDAs) for two dosages of abacavir/lamivudine tablets for oral suspension for the treatment of HIV-1 infection in paediatric patients. This is the first version of abacavir/lamivudine with scoring to allow for dose adjustment and is also flavoured. The FDA's tentative approval through the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) programme means the formulations meet all of the agency's quality, safety and efficacy standards.

The tentative approval follows a 2012 agreement between Mylan, Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI) and ViiV Healthcare to transfer the necessary technology and resources to facilitate regulatory authority submission, production and distribution of the new formulation, at low cost, to a total of 115 resource limited countries including all low-middle  income, least developed countries and sub-Saharan Africa. Mylan's products are expected to be eligible for purchase in early 2015.

The fixed dose combination of abacavir and lamivudine tablets for oral suspension 60 mg/30 mg and 120 mg/60 mg is indicated for the treatment of HIV-1 infection in combination with other antiretroviral agents for paediatric patients.

More than 70% of the approximately 3.4 million children living with HIV worldwide do not have access to appropriate care and medicines¹. Improving those numbers will require medicines that are palatable to children and affordable to those living in resource-limited settings.

"The approval of abacavir and lamivudine tablets for oral suspension for marketing in developing markets demonstrates our commitment to providing the world's 7 billion people with access to medicine and our continued leadership in enhancing access to ARVs to patients in developing countries," Mylan CEO Heather Bresch said. "This new, flavoured, paediatric formulation is designed to help parents and caregivers give accurate doses of the medication depending on the weight of the child. The innovative work being done at Mylan, in combination with our partnership with ViiV and CHAI, has enabled us to develop this new product to treat children with HIV, a particularly vulnerable population."