Roche is Under Pressure Over Its Antiviral Drug Tamiflu
By William T. Elliot, MD, FACP
Roche, the manufacturer of Oseltamivir (Tamiflu), has found itself struggling to keep up with demand for its antiviral drug in the face of a possible avian flu epidemic. Countries worldwide are stockpiling the drug, which has resulted in hundreds of millions of dollars in sales for the company. But now, Roche is facing pressure from the worldwide community to allow generic production of Tamiflu. Taiwanese officials have indicated that they could begin mass production relatively quickly, and UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan has urged licensing of the drug to generic companies. An Indian drug company has announced that it will begin production of the drug, despite the risk of patent infringement lawsuits. Cipla, based in Bombay, India’s third largest drug company, will soon begin production. Meanwhile Roche, which sells Tamiflu for $60 per treatment course, is working to expand production, but has stated that the process is too complex and time-consuming for generic houses to manufacture. Officials from Cipla report that they have reverse engineered the drug and could distribute generic oseltamivir as early as January 2006. They also state that they will sell the drug for "a humanitarian price." Tamiflu is approved for treating both influenza A and B, and for prophylaxis of both viruses. There have been several recent reports that avian influenza A may be showing some resistance to Tamiflu, however, these were based on a single report from Vietnam of a H5N1 virus that was partially resistant to the drug, and not on any evidence of widespread resistance.
Roche, the manufacturer of Oseltamivir (Tamiflu), has found itself struggling to keep up with demand for its antiviral drug in the face of a possible avian flu epidemic. Countries worldwide are stockpiling the drug, which has resulted in hundreds of millions of dollars in sales for the company.You have reached your article limit for the month. Subscribe now to access this article plus other member-only content.
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