May 15, 2007

Vietnam may reprocess bird flu medicine Tamiflu 

Vietnam is extracting a large amount of Oseltamivir phosphate, active agent of Tamiflu, to reprocess the bird flu medicine following the re-occurrence of the dreaded disease in the country.

Vietnam's Chemistry Institute is tasked to remove the active ingredient from thje country's stockpile of Tamiflu tablets and capsules which are about to expire. The reprocessing of Tamiflu will be more economical than new purchase, and help handle the expired medicines more easily.

With expenses amounting to 3 billion Vietnamese dong (US$187,000),  the institute is synthesizing Oseltamivir phosphate from local star anise, an aromatic Asian evergreen tree that has purple-red flowers and star-like clusters of anise-scented fruit. The synthesis is expected to conclude in April 2008.

The institute's researchers have discovered a process of extracting shikimic acid, a key material to synthesize Oseltamivirphosphate, from anise fruit. With the process, prices of Vietnamese Tamiflu medicines are similar to those of imported ones.

Vietnam's Health Ministry announced late 2005 that it had signed a deal with Roche, Swiss producer of Tamiflu, under which the firm would supply Vietnam with necessary materials and techniques to manufacture the medicine in the country. At that time, Roche also agreed to supply Vietnam with 25 million Tamiflu capsules in case of bird flu pandemics.

Vietnam has detected 93 bird flu patients, including 42 fatalities, in 32 localities since the disease started to hit the country in December 2003, the ministry said on Tuesday, noting that it has seen no new human cases of infections since mid-November 2005.