Abbott HIV History
For more than 20 years, Abbott has made a significant contribution to the fight against HIV/AIDS through the development of innovative tests and medicines. Abbott and the Abbott Fund also are investing more than $100 million to advance HIV testing, treatment and support services in developing countries. Working in close collaboration with international agencies, governments and non-governmental organizations (NGOs), Abbott and the Abbott Fund are improving the lives of people affected by HIV/AIDS in developed and developing countries. A brief summary of Abbott's HIV-related efforts include:
2007: Abbott Fund opens an office in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania - its first outside of Illinois. The Fund also brings on new partners to help advance its Abbott Global AIDS Care programs, including Catholic Medical Mission Board, Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation and Family Health International.
2007: In April, Abbott announces a further reduction in the price to $1,000 per patient per year in low and lower middle-income countries. After these reductions in the price in low- and lower middle-income countries, Kaletra and Aluvia are now the most affordable protease inhibitors, compared to other boosted or unboosted protease inhibitors that are recommended in the World Health Organization (WHO), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), the British HIV Association (BHIVA), and the International AIDS Society (IAS)-USA guidelines.
2006: Kaletra tablets receive EMEA (European Medicines Agency) approval. This is followed by EMEA approval through a newly implemented regulatory procedure of Aluvia™ tablets, which are identical to Kaletra tablets but colored differently and marked for use in developing countries. This approval allows Certificates of Pharmaceutical Product (CPPs), which are required for registration in most developing countries, to be issued by the end of the year.
2006: Abbott enters into a partnership with Earvin "Magic" Johnson and the Magic Johnson Foundation to address the alarming rise of HIV infections in the African-American community. The "I Stand With Magic" campaign (www.istandwithmagic.com), launched on World AIDS Day, December 1, 2006, is a multi-year, multi-million dollar effort to provide educational tools and resources for African Americans and other minority communities to slow the spread of HIV.
2006: Abbott Fund and Baylor open a new pediatric AIDS clinic in Lilongwe, Malawi in November. Today, this clinic serves more than 1,000 children living with HIV/AIDS. Baylor has opened clinics, modeled after the first clinic in Romania, in Malawi, Botswana, Leshotho, Swaziland and Uganda. An additional clinic is under construction in Burkina Faso.
2005: A tablet form of Kaletra receives FDA approval. Using proprietary melt-extrusion technology (Meltrex™), which enables a stable, solid dispersion of medication that provides similar drug levels in the blood relative to capsules, Kaletra tablets allow adult patients to take fewer pills, with or without food, as part of their treatment regimen. FDA approval of this formulation is a required step to ensure availability in the developing world.
2005: A new outpatient center and newly renovated central pathology lab is dedicated at Muhimbili National Hospital in Dar es Salaam, as part of Abbott and Abbott Fund's Tanzania Care program.
2003: Abbott Fund begins its Tanzania Care program, through which it is helping to modernize Tanzania's health infrastructure and systems. Projects include building a new outpatient center to treat up to 1,000 patients per day; renovation of central pathology lab, resulting in more tests being done and in a more timely manner; new information technology systems put into place; and extensive training of health care workers and managers. The program covers more than 80 hospitals and clinics throughout Tanzania, including Muhimbili National Hospital in Dar es Salaam.
2002: Abbott offers its Determine HIV Rapid Test free to programs offering prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) of HIV/AIDS programs in all 69 African and least developed countries.
2001: The first pediatric AIDS clinic in Constanta, Romania opens in partnership with the Baylor College of Medicine and the Abbott Fund. More than 600 children with HIV are treated. Three years later, data show a 15 percent drop in mortality, while the number of children with HIV in the local hospital drops by more than 90 percent.
2001: Abbott begins the Abbott Access program in all 69 least developed and African countries, where it sells its two HIV drugs, Kaletra and Norvir, and its Determine™ HIV Rapid Test (at no profit).
2001: Abbott brings together an ethnically diverse body of 12 physicians named the H.A.L.T. (HIV African American and Latino Treatment) Council dedicated to cultural competence in the treatment of HIV-infected adults and adolescents. H.A.L.T. develops a culturally-appropriate response to HIV/AIDS treatment guidelines issued by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services that addresses its impact on the medical care of minority communities.
2000: Abbott Fund begins the Step Forward program, designed to help children impacted by HIV. Abbott works closely with its partners from the Baylor College of Medicine, the Axios Foundation and the International HIV/AIDS Alliance.
2000: Abbott receives FDA accelerated approval for Kaletra® (lopinavir/ritonavir). With Norvir, Kaletra becomes the second of Abbott's new generation of the protease inhibitor class of antiretroviral medications. At the time, Kaletra is the only protease inhibitor approved for use in children as young as six months.
1999: Norvir receives full FDA approval.
1999: Kaletra Early Access Program (EAP) enrolls the first patients outside the U.S.
1997: Norvir becomes one of the first protease inhibitors to receive FDA clearance for use in children, based on pharmacokinetic and safety data.
1996: Norvir receives FDA accelerated approval, allowing its use in patients with early and advanced HIV disease.
1995: Norvir Expanded Access Program (EAP) begins and reaches 2,000 patients worldwide. Patients in most need are provided with Norvir at no cost.
1992: Abbott is the first company to receive FDA approval for an HIV-1 and HIV-2 diagnostic assay. It is the first diagnostic system in its class to simultaneously test for HIV-1 and HIV-2 antibodies.
1992: ABT-538 is synthesized to become Norvir® (ritonavir), Abbott's landmark protease inhibitor (PI).
1985: Abbott introduces the first licensed test to detect HIV antibodies in blood, enabling widespread screening of the world's blood supply and of individuals.
- Norvir (ritonavir)
- Kaletra (lopinavir/ritonavir)
