Mumbai — Among the coconut plantations and beaches of South India, a factory the size of 35 football fields is preparing to churn out billions of generic pills for HIV patients and flood the US market with the low-cost copycat medicines. US patents on key components for some important HIV therapies are set to expire starting in December and Laurus Labs — the India-based company that owns the facility — is gearing up to cash in. Laurus is one of the world’s biggest suppliers of ingredients used in anti-retrovirals, thanks to novel chemistry that delivers cheaper production costs than anyone else. Now, its CEO Satyanarayana Chava wants to use the same strategy, selling his own finished drugs in the US and Europe. He predicts some generics Laurus produces will eventually sell for 90% less than branded HIV drugs in the US, slashing expenditures for a disease that’s among the costliest for many insurers. Shares of Laurus climbed as much as 3.4% in early trading in Mumbai on Tuesday, whil...
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