December 8, 2005
BANGKOK (AFP) - Thai public health authorities, preparing for a potentially deadly avain influenza pandemic, Wednesday claimed success in producing their own, cheaper supply of the anti-viral drug Tamiflu.
The Government Pharmaceutical Organisation laboratory production of oseltamivir -- Tamiflu's generic name -- began production last month to prepare for a possible pandemic and to offset import costs.
Health officials said they would eventually be able make up to 400,000 capsules a day of the drug, which lessens the effects of the virus in humans, as its Swiss maker Roche does not hold a patent in Thailand.
"(We) can produce oseltamivir which is used to (treat) bird flu with the same quality as the original drug from overseas," Public Health Minister Pinit Jarusombat.
"It is under stability testing to decide on its expiration" and is expected to be registered with Thailand's Food and Drug Administration by May 2006, Pinit said.
He said Thailand had managed to produce the drug at 70 baht (1.70 dollars) a capsule, some 50 baht (1.20 dollars) a capsule cheaper than the original version, because of the lower import costs of an important ingredient.
Thai authorities said last month they would buy the raw materials for the drug from India.
Government Pharmaceutical Organisation director general Lieutenant General Mongkol Jivasatikarn said Thailand had spent almost one year preparing for production before it could successfully produce its own version of the drug.
"Thailand will be able to produce one million capsules a year in 2006 and if the bird flu pandemic occurs Thailand had the ability to produce ... at least 400,000 capsules daily," he said.
The deadly strain of the H5N1 disease has killed nearly 70 lives across Asia since 2003, including 13 in Thailand.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) recommends that countries should stockpile enough antivirals for at least a quarter of their population.
Tamiflu is not a vaccine. It is used against conventional strains of flu; it has not been fully tested against bird flu, which is transmitted from poultry to humans; and it is unclear how or whether it would work if bird flu became more contagious.
It is designed to block reproduction of the influenza virus after infection. If taken early enough, the drug can avert the worst effects of flu and shorten the duration of sickness.