GlaxoSmithKline to produce Combivir in China

British pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline on Sunday submitted an application to China's State Drug Administration to produce the combination anti-HIV pill Combivir locally in Tianjin, China. If approved, Glaxo will be the first international drugmaker to manufacture an anti-HIV drug in China. The Tianjin plant would be able to start producing Combivir by the end of 2004. The domestically produced medication would cost significantly less than imported versions of the two-drug combination pill, Glaxo officials said. Combivir contains the nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors 3TC and AZT.