SAO PAULO, Sept 1 (AFP) - A public Brazilian laboratory said Saturday it will go ahead with trials of its generic version of the anti-AIDS drug Nelfinavir next week, even though the drug's manufacturer reached a deal to keep its patent.
While the government-owned Oswaldo Cruz Foundation will no longer produce the drug, it will go ahead with the testing program, said Eloan Pinheiro, director of the foundation's drug technology institute.
Roche, the Swiss manufacturer of Nelfinavir, agreed Friday to cut the drug's price by 40 percent to avert a threat to its Brazilian patent on the drug. The Brazilian government had threatened to manufacture a generic version of Nelfinavir if the price it paid for the drug was not reduced.
Under the agreement with Roche, announced by Brazilian Health Minister Jose Serra on Friday, the price of a tablet of Nelfinavir will fall to 64 cents from 1.07 dollars.
The Brazilian government's purchases of the drug currently make up 28 percent of its total budget for combatting AIDS, or some 88.5 million dollars (97 million euros) per year.
Some 25,000 Brazilians with AIDS currently take Nelfinavir -- one of 12 anti-AIDS drugs the Brazilian government distributes for free to people infected with AIDS or the HIV virus.
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