Roche picks Shanghai company for flu drug
13/12/2005 11:04
Shanghai Pharmaceutical Group announced Monday it has reached a
sublicensing deal with the Swiss Roche for the production of Tamiflu, a drug
widely believed to be effective in treating human cases of bird flu, in China.
Roche also made an announcement at its website Monday, saying "Roche and
Shanghai Pharmaceutical Group have signed the first sub-licensing agreement for
the overall production of oseltamivir for pandemic use in China."
The
brand name of oseltamivir is Tamiflu. Jointly developed by Gilead and Roche, the
drug has been recommended by the World Health Organization in treating human
cases of the bird flu.
Roche has exclusive world-wide rights for the
manufacturing and marketing of Tamiflu and continues to work in partnership with
Gilead, according to Roche.
The announcement said Roche is also "in
negotiations for local partnerships in other countries."
An official
with the Shanghai Pharmaceutical Group said its products will not bear the name
of "Tamiflu", but the ingredients and quality will be the same with Tamiflu
produced by Roche.
He said the group aims to form a monthly production
capacity of 200,000 treatments in six months in the first step.
According to the official, the group made the request to produce and
sell Tamiflu under a sub-license in November.
Xinhua news
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