UktoKiwi
10th February 2006, 07:48 PM
Do not know whether this drug will be as good as tamiflu by Roche but the price would be great in comparison(if one pill is same strength as tamiflu pill). 70 baht = approx £1 sterling or 2.60 NZ$
Thai tamiflu to hit market by July
The first batch of the cheaper generic version of tamiflu, the antiviral drug believed to be the best defence against bird flu, is expected to hit the market by July.
The Government Pharmaceutical Organisation (GPO) which is responsible for producing the generic version in Thailand recently turned out about 200,000 capsules for pre-registration testing, Deputy Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said.
The next step was to get the drugs tested to study their effectiveness against the real tamiflu, he said. Only then can the drug be registered with the Food and Drug Administration and the GPO can start to produce the generic drug in mass quantities.
The GPO is capable of producing a million capsules of the drug for 100,000 people within 15 days and the agency could increase its production capacity up to three times if necessary, Anutin said.
"The drug could be sent to the area where it is needed within 24 hours in the event of rampant spread of the disease," he added.
The first lot of generic tamiflu produced by the GPO should come out in five months at a cost of Bt70 per capsule, he said, adding the drug would be branded as GPO-A-Flu.
Pisamorn Klinsuwan, the GPO's director of research and development, said Thailand was not required to seek permission from the drug's original producer, Switzerland's Roche Holding AG, because the company had not patented it in Thailand.
The GPO purchased the oseltamivir's precursor, Shikimic acid synthesised from the Chinese spice star anise which is the active ingredient of tamiflu, from India.
Thai tamiflu to hit market by July
The first batch of the cheaper generic version of tamiflu, the antiviral drug believed to be the best defence against bird flu, is expected to hit the market by July.
The Government Pharmaceutical Organisation (GPO) which is responsible for producing the generic version in Thailand recently turned out about 200,000 capsules for pre-registration testing, Deputy Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said.
The next step was to get the drugs tested to study their effectiveness against the real tamiflu, he said. Only then can the drug be registered with the Food and Drug Administration and the GPO can start to produce the generic drug in mass quantities.
The GPO is capable of producing a million capsules of the drug for 100,000 people within 15 days and the agency could increase its production capacity up to three times if necessary, Anutin said.
"The drug could be sent to the area where it is needed within 24 hours in the event of rampant spread of the disease," he added.
The first lot of generic tamiflu produced by the GPO should come out in five months at a cost of Bt70 per capsule, he said, adding the drug would be branded as GPO-A-Flu.
Pisamorn Klinsuwan, the GPO's director of research and development, said Thailand was not required to seek permission from the drug's original producer, Switzerland's Roche Holding AG, because the company had not patented it in Thailand.
The GPO purchased the oseltamivir's precursor, Shikimic acid synthesised from the Chinese spice star anise which is the active ingredient of tamiflu, from India.