CONTINUOUS PROGRESS TO ADDRESS THE AIDS EPIDEMIC: Axios Celebrates World AIDS Day with Boehringer Ingelheim as Ukraine Becomes the First Country in Eastern Europe to Join the VIRAMUNE® Donation Program

PRNewswire - November 30, 2001

Dublin, Ireland, 30 November 2001 - On World AIDS Day 2001, Axios International reports on the successful progress of its partnership with Boehringer Ingelheim to address the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the developing world. The latest shipment of VIRAMUNE® was handed over to the Ukraine on Tuesday during an official ceremony in Kiev. In view of an increasing number of HIV infected people in the Ukraine, the Health Minister, Mr Vitalii Moscolenko, welcomed the donation as a valuable contribution to Ukraine's attempts to enable a new generation to grow up free of AIDS.

Since the delivery of drug supplies to Congo (Brazzaville) and Senegal as the first countries in the Boehringer Ingelheim VIRAMUNE® Donation Program in 2000, sixteen additional countries have been included. This increases the number of participating countries to a total of eighteen with 29 different projects.

"Providing effective interventions to prevent mother to child transmission of HIV in developing countries is a top priority for Axios and Boehringer Ingelheim," said Dr. Joseph Saba, Axios Chief Executive Officer. "We will spare no effort to facilitate access to VIRAMUNE for people with HIV in developing countries through Boehringer Ingelheim's generous donation. On this World AIDS Day, we celebrate the addition of Ukraine to the growing list of countries taking advantage of this important program, and the first of its kind in Eastern Europe."

The VIRAMUNE® Donation Program represents Boehringer Ingelheim's offer to provide VIRAMUNE® (nevirapine) free of charge for a period of five years to developing countries for use in the prevention of Mother to Child Transmission of HIV-1 (MTCT). Countries participating in the VIRAMUNE® Donation Program include: Burundi, Benin, Cameroon, Congo (Brazzaville), Ghana, Guyana, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Malawi, Namibia, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Uganda, Ukraine, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

Axios is an international company providing consultancy services, technical assistance and program implementation in healthcare in developing countries. Axios has extensive worldwide experience in private and public sector partnerships, in public health implementation programs and in creating appropriate alliances at political and technical levels. The Axios group consists of a multidisciplinary team with distinctive areas of expertise that works closely with local counterparts. Axios implementation projects currently include programs on Orphans and Vulnerable Children (OVC), Voluntary Counseling and Testing of HIV (VCT), Prevention of Mother-to-Child Transmission of HIV (MTCT), management of donations and programs to increase access to HIV-related drugs and care in developing countries.

For more information on Axios, please see the Internet website www.axios-group.com or www.viramune-donation-program.org, which provides readily available information about the status of the Program.

Contact: Ms Linda Sheaffer Axios International 33610 Solon Road - Suite B4 Solon, Ohio 44139 USA Phone: 1- 440-498-9151 Fax: 1- 440-248-1969 E mail: sheafferl@axiosint.com

Contact: Ms. Claire Brule' Axios International 7 Castlecourt Centre Castleknock Dublin 18 Ireland Phone: 353-1-820-8081 Fax: 353-1-820-8404 E mail: axios@axiosint.com

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