November 15, 2005

Roche to sublicense Tamiflu production in South Korea

Swiss drug maker Roche has sent an official letter to the Korean Food and Drug Administration (KFDA), saying it would sublicense Tamiflu production to any Korean company that could produce it in adequate amounts. Tamiflu was known to be helpful in treating patients infected with the highly pathogenic H5N1 strain of bird flu.

In response, many South Korean pharmaceutical firms tried to cooperate with Roche in producing Tamiflu. Roche's patent for Tamiflu runs until 2016.

However, a doctor at Seoul Veterans Hospital said the drug did not kill the virus itself, but prevented it from proliferating. As such, he urged the government to provide incentives for companies to "develop a more efficient vaccine."

KFDA said a total of 11 Korean pharmaceutical firms have submitted applications for authorisation in producing a generic version of the drug, in cooperation with Roche.

South Korea's government has already stockpiled 700,000 doses of Tamiflu in preparation for a possible bird flu pandemic. An additional 20,000 doses were expected at the end of this year.

An official at the Korea Center for Disease Control and Prevention said a total of one million doses of Tamiflu could be stocked by 2006.