India's Hetero Drugs to make Tamiflu for poor countries
Afp, Zurich
An Indian company, Hetero Drugs, has been granted the right to produce the antiviral Tamiflu for poor countries taking measures against bird flu and a possible influenza pandemic, the Swiss pharmaceutical group Roche said Friday. Roche said in a statement that the sub-license for Hetero will speed up deliveries of the drug, known generically as oseltamivir, to governments in India and other developing countries in the first half of 2006. "We are pleased to announce the partnership with Hetero Drugs as the latest step in our scale-up efforts to meet the needs of governments in preparing for the potential public health threat posed by avian influenza," said Roche pandemic chief David Reddy. Hetero was the first company to meet technical and quality demands for swift delivery, after working two-and-a-half years to gain approval Roche said. The agreement is also expected to allow more capacity for further orders. Fifty governments, and the World Health Organisation, are building stockpiles of Tamiflu, a drug that can diminish the severity of influenza in most instances.
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