Affordable Healthcare

At Apotex, we put patients first. And because our patients are your patients, our retail and distribution partners benefit from this focus. As a company, we are committed to driving change in the generic pharmaceutical industry that will allow products to come to market as quickly as possible.

While it is highly unusual for a pharmaceutical company to challenge the status quo, Apotex recognizes that our ultimate responsibility is to bring the consumers of the world trusted, affordable products that can improve overall health and quality of life. We publicly support changes in policy that are intended to "open up" the generic pharmaceutical industry and make the marketplace more competitive and responsive to patients' needs.

And by bringing generics to market quickly, Apotex effectively generates savings for healthcare systems around the globe.

Fighting AIDS in Africa

In 2003, Apotex announced that it was prepared to produce a key HIV/AIDS drug under Canadian legislation that would allow Canadian-made generic pharmaceuticals to be exported to developing countries in times of health crises. As of 2008, Apotex is the only Canadian pharmaceutical company to have navigated the complicated Canadian Access to Medicines Regime (CAMR) which provides a mechanism for developing countries to import less expensive generic versions of patented drugs.

As a result, Apotex has been awarded a tender from the Rwandan Government for the life-saving triple combination AIDS drug Apo-Triavir. The drug is a combination of 300mg Zidovudine, 150 mg Lamivudine and 200 mg Nevirapine and was evaluated and approved under the provision of the CAMR by Health Canada.

Apotex is providing the drug to Rwanda at cost, with the price quoted in the tender at 19.5 cents (U.S.) per tablet. If the three branded drugs were purchased individually, these important AIDS drugs would cost around $6 (U.S.) per dose.

The products were delivered to Rwanda at the end of 2008. 21,000 patients received the drugs and are now leading normal lives.