Russian modern anti-HIV therapy has become more accessible
Elpida, the Russian developer of ELPIDA®, an innovative eslulfavarinin-based drug against HIV, has reduced the price for this medicinal product by 15 %. This discount will help the Russian healthcare system provide therapy to a larger number of HIV-infected patients throughout the country without excessive costs.
The end-to-end production cycle of the medicine, including synthesis of its pharmaceutical ingredient, is carried out in Russia, which makes it possible to enable medical institutions with its supplies regardless of external factors and the geopolitical situation. Elpida is going to manufacture and supply the entire volume of the medicine at the reduced price already in the second quarter under the federal procurement contracts concluded in early March 2023.
In 2022, the company also developed and launched ELPIDA® COMBI, which includes a combination of tenofovir + elsulfavirin + emtricitabine in each tablet as a fixed daily dose for the treatment of HIV-1 in adult patients. Simplified dosage administration and better compliance to therapy are the key advantages of ELPIDA® COMBI as a combined medicine. This is extremely important, because many antiretroviral therapy methods involve lifelong daily administration of multiple tablets, thereby impairing quality of life and increasing risks of wrong dosages and poor compliance to therapy. Such situations, in turn, may lead to drug resistance and make it difficult to suppress the viral load during long-term therapy. In this regard, it is recommended using fixed-dose combined drugs like ELPIDA® COMBI as the first-line antiretroviral therapy. Yet another advantage of this medicinal product is the absence of cross-resistance, mutual antagonism or cross-toxicity.
In 2023, ELPIDA® COMBI was included in the Vital and Essential Medicines List and was registered in March 2023 at a maximum selling price of 5,500.00 rubles, excluding VAT, per 30 tablets.
Taking into account the lower price for original domestic ELPIDA® and the introduction of new combined ELPIDA® COMBI, anti-HIV therapy will become much more available and convenient. In 2023, therapy with drugs containing new-generation NNRTIs will be offered to at least 60,000 patients.
ELPIDA® and ELPIDA® COMBI are Russian medicinal products containing a new-generation NNRTI (elsulfavirin). Results of 5 clinical trials in Russia and Thailand showed better tolerability, reliability and safety compared to the reference medicine (Efavirenz) along with the same or even higher efficacy. Research and development of these medicinal products were carried out under the Pharma-2020 program partially funded by the Skolkovo Innovation Center.
Russian patients receive elsulfavirin-based therapy as part of the federal virology program. ELPIDA® and ELPIDA® COMBI have been included in the Vital and Essential Medicines List in 2019 and 2023, respectively.
Price reduction under the government contracts concluded in 2023 compared to the maximum selling price registered in the Vital and Essential Medicines List.