Health Canada Approves ATRIPLA(R) (efavirenz 600 mg/emtricitabine 200 mg/ tenofovir disoproxil fumarate 300 mg), the First Once-Daily Single Tablet Regim...( - Product Developed Through Joint ...),Health

- Product Developed Through Joint Venture Between Bristol-Myers Squibb Company and Gilead Sciences, the First of Its Kind in HIV Treatment -

PRINCETON, N.J. and FOSTER CITY, Calif., Oct. 17 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Bristol-Myers Squibb Company (NYSE: BMY) and Gilead Sciences, Inc. (Nasdaq: GILD) announced today that Health Canada has approved ATRIPLA(R) (efavirenz 600 mg/emtricitabine 200 mg/tenofovir disoproxil fumarate 300 mg) for the treatment of HIV-1 infection in adults. With this Notice of Compliance, ATRIPLA becomes the first once-daily single tablet regimen for HIV approved in Canada for use as a stand-alone therapy or in combination with other antiretrovirals.

ATRIPLA combines SUSTIVA(R) (efavirenz), manufactured by Bristol-Myers Squibb Company, and Truvada(R) (emtricitabine/tenofovir disoproxil fumarate), manufactured by Gilead Sciences. Truvada itself is a fixed-dose product that contains two of Gilead's anti-HIV medications, Viread(R) (tenofovir disoproxil fumarate) and Emtriva(R) (emtricitabine), in a single once-daily tablet for use as part of combination therapy. All three medicines work by blocking reverse transcriptase, an enzyme necessary for HIV replication.

"ATRIPLA represents a milestone in treatment for this disease," said Mark Wainberg, MD, director of the McGill AIDS Centre and professor of medicine and microbiology at McGill University. "I commend the companies involved for joining forces to make ATRIPLA, the first complete three-d
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