Drugmaker to make generic Tamiflu

Drugmaker to make generic Tamiflu

UNITED KINGDOM: Indian pharmaceutical manufacturer Cipla plans to produce a generic version of the anti-viral drug Tamiflu to counter a feared bird flu pandemic, The Financial Times reported on Saturday, quoting a company official.

"The whole world needs it and there is a tremendous shortage," Cipla's joint managing director Amar Lulla told the paper, brushing off the potential threat of legal action from Tamiflu's maker Roche. "We will sell it in many countries where there are no patents," notably in Africa, the Middle East, Latin America and Asia," Lulla said.

Cipla would sell its own version of oseltamivir, the generic name for Tamiflu, at a "humanitarian" price below that of the Roche product, Lulla said, though he declined to give a figure.

Cipla, India's third largest drugs producer, also makes cheap generic versions of drugs to combat the AIDS virus. -- AFP