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It is reported that 16 domestic pharmaceutical companies have the capacity to begin immediately producing the anti-avian influenza medicine Tamiflu, in case of the further spread of that disease. Anticipating that it would be extremely difficult to import the medicine if a pandemic of a human-to-human transmissible strain of bird flu were to hit the country, the government will permit local pharmaceutical drugs to produce Tamiflu regardless of the patent issues that may arise.
An official at the Korea Food and Drug Administration (KFDA) said Tuesday that 16 pharmaceutical companies including Chong Kun Dang notified the Korea Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association that they can produce Tamiflu. In fact, 12 of them have already submitted synthetic samples of the Tamiflu substance.
As a way of replacing the difficult-to-obtain shikimic acid, Chong Kun Dang is capable of producing oseltamivir phosphate, the key component of Tamiflu, with a byproduct from the production of diabetes drugs. Hanmi Pharmaceutical Co., LG Life Sciences, Yuhan Corporation, Il-Yang Pharm., Daewoong Pharmaceutical Co., Estechpharma. Co., Shin Poong Pharm. Co., Korea Fine Chemical Co., Dongwoo Syntech, and Hwail Pharmaceutical Co. submitted prototype products.
Korea currently secured 7 million capsules of Tamiflu made by the Swiss pharmaceutical company Roche. With 10 capsules allotted to one person, this amount can cover 700,000 people in case of an outbreak of the disease.
(englishnews@chosun.com )
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