Abbott's paediatric HIV drug wins FDA approval

US-based pharmaceutical company Abbott has won FDA approval for its lower-strength protease-inhibitor Kaletra (lopinavir/ritonavir), which will be available in the US from November 2007.

The new lower-strength tablets are smaller in size than original Kaletra tablets and contain the same proven active ingredients as Abbott's Kaletra oral solution. The lower-strength Kaletra tablet is approved for children weighing 15 kg or more who are able to swallow the intact tablet.

Scott Brun, divisional vice-president of infectious diseases and renal development at Abbott's global pharmaceutical R&D arm, said: "HIV/AIDS continues to have a devastating impact globally, especially among the more than two million children living with the disease throughout the world. Abbott developed a lower-strength tablet formulation of Kaletra to give doctors an innovative treatment option to help curb the impact of HIV infection in children."