Africa, Asia and the Pacific > President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief

On February 16, 2011, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted tentative approval for abacavir sulfate Oral Solution, 20 mg/mL, reviewed under the expedited review provisions of the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). This formulation, indicated in combination with other antiretroviral agents for the treatment of HIV-1 infection in adults and in pediatric patients aged 3 months and older, is manufactured by Cipla, Limited, of Mumbai, India.

"Tentative approval" means that FDA has concluded that a drug product has met all required quality, safety and efficacy standards, but is not eligible for marketing in the U.S. because of existing patent protections. Tentative approval does, however, make the product eligible for purchase outside the United States under the PEPFAR program.

This product is a generic version of Ziagen (abacavir sulfate) Oral Solution 20 mg/mL, a product of VIIV Healthcare Company. Patent information related to Ziagen is available in the FDA Approved Drug Products with Therapeutic Equivalence Evaluations, commonly referred to as the Orange Book.

As with all generic applications, FDA conducts an on-site inspection of each manufacturing facility, and of the facilities performing the bioequivalence studies, to evaluate the ability of the manufacturer to produce a quality product and to assess the quality of the bioequivalence data supporting the application prior to granting approval or tentative approval to these applications.

You can find a complete list of all Approved and Tentatively Approved Antiretrovirals in Association with the President's Emergency Plan on the FDA web site: Africa, Asia and the Pacific > President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief.


Richard Klein
Office of Special Health Issues
Food and Drug Administration
Kimberly Struble
Division of Antiviral Drug Products
Food and Drug Administration
Africa, Asia and the Pacific > President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief


Orange Book: Approved Drug Products with Therapeutic Equivalence Evaluations
Orange Book: Approved Drug Products with Therapeutic Equivalence Evaluations