Generic flu drug threatens Tamiflu FT.com
By Andrew Jack in LondonPublished: May 13 2009 22:30 | Last updated: May 13 2009 22:30
An Indian pharmaceutical company is gearing up to sell a cheap version of the leading patented antiviral flu drug Tamiflu to emerging economies, in a move that will pitch intellectual property rights against affordable access to medicines.
Cipla, based in Mumbai, said on Wednesday it had agreed to sell significant quantities of its Antiflu preparation to Mexico, the country at the centre of the current flu outbreak.
The move came only hours after the World Health Organisation said the drug was as effective as Tamiflu.
Yusuf Hamied, the head of Cipla, confirmed that Mexico had already agreed in principle to purchase stocks of Antiflu, and talks were under way with a number of other governments in Latin America, the Middle East and Africa.
The launch risks provoking a clash with Gilead and Roche, the large pharmaceutical companies that developed and distribute Tamiflu, the drug known generically as oseltamivir, which Antiflu replicates.
FT.com / Companies / Pharmaceuticals – Generic flu drug threatens Tamiflu.
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