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| '''Zidovudine''' (brandname of '''azidothymidine''', abbreviated '''AZT''') is an anti-] ]. It was the first ] treatment to be approved for use against ]. It was originally developed to treat ], but was also found to block the action of the "]" ] that HIV uses to replicate its ] for splicing into the ] of a target ]. Side-effects include ]. ] first synthesized the drug in ], under a ] ] (NIH) ]. The formula was later bought by ] (now ]), which filed for a patent on AZT in ]. In February ], NIH's ] demonstrated the drug's effectiveness against HIV. The drug typically sells for ~]8 per daily dose (pdd) but is manufactured for as little as ~$0.63pdd. | '''Zidovudine''' (brandname of '''azidothymidine''', abbreviated '''AZT''') is an anti-] ]. It was the first ] treatment to be approved for use against ]. It was originally developed to treat ], but was also found to block the action of the "]" ] that HIV uses to replicate its ] for splicing into the ] of a target ]. Side-effects include ]. ] first synthesized the drug in ], under a ] ] (NIH) ]. The formula was later bought by ] (now ]), which filed for a patent on AZT in ]. In February ], NIH's ] demonstrated the drug's effectiveness against HIV. The drug typically sells for ~]8 per daily dose (pdd) but is manufactured for as little as ~$0.63pdd. | ||
| In ], ] filed a lawsuit claiming that the Zidovudine patent was invalid. The US ] for the ] ruled in ] in favour of ]. In ], another lawsuit was filed over the patent by the ]. | In ], ] filed a lawsuit claiming that the AZT/Zidovudine patent was invalid. The US ] for the ] ruled in ] in favour of ]. In ], another lawsuit was filed over the patent (which is due to expire in ]) by the ]. | ||
| Glaxo-Wellcome's patent on AZT is due to expire in ]. | |||
| ==References== | ==References== | ||
Revision as of 05:07, 14 March 2003
Zidovudine (brandname of azidothymidine, abbreviated AZT) is an anti-retroviral drug. It was the first antiviral treatment to be approved for use against HIV. It was originally developed to treat cancer, but was also found to block the action of the "reverse transcriptase" enzyme that HIV uses to replicate its RNA for splicing into the DNA of a target cell. Side-effects include anemia. Jerome Horowitz first synthesized the drug in 1964, under a US National Institutes of Health (NIH) grant. The formula was later bought by Borroughs-Wellcome (now Glaxo-Wellcome), which filed for a patent on AZT in 1986. In February 1985, NIH's Hiroaki Mitsuya demonstrated the drug's effectiveness against HIV. The drug typically sells for ~$8 per daily dose (pdd) but is manufactured for as little as ~$0.63pdd.
In 1991, Public Citizen filed a lawsuit claiming that the AZT/Zidovudine patent was invalid. The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit ruled in 1994 in favour of Glaxo Smith Kline. In 2002, another lawsuit was filed over the patent (which is due to expire in 2005) by the AIDS Healthcare Foundation.
References
- 1 -- The Best Democracy Money Can Buy by Greg Palast (2002)