Tamiflu To Be Made By Cardinal
Written by Stuart Stevens | Tuesday, 11 July 2006 | There are 0 comments
An Irish company called Cardinal Health has been given a licence by Roche Pharmaceuticals to manufacture the anti bird flu virus drug Tamiflu in the EU as part of the effort by Roche to reach worldwide demand targets. At present Roche is unable to meet immediate demand for its flu busting drug Tamiflu and is rapidly reaching agreements with other drug manufacturers so that the demand can be met.
The drug company Cardinal that is located in Dublin said that it had agreed with Roche that it would be using the shikimic acid found in the drug and would be allowed to make the Tamiflu capsules. The contract is designed to start in January but Cardinal has already started producing some samples to get the regulatory green light from the authorities and the company Roche. At present it is not known exactly where Cardinal will be making the drug and the financial details of the contract were also kept secret.
Tamiflu has the approval of the World Health Organisation to treat H5N1 bird flu and as a result is much sought after by governments and individuals as a way of being safe from the deadly effects of the flu. In all the the WHO reckons that 131 people have succumbed to bird flu in Asia and Africa since the first outbreak in 2003. The flu can be caught from very close contact with birds and infected poultry have been found in the EU but so far America has been free of the flu.
The Swiss company Roche now has 15 licencees making Tamiflu all over the world in order to meet the demand. The company Cardinal whose head office is based in Ohio in the United States has 20 drug manufacturing plants as well as 11 other drug packing facilities around the world.
