S. Korea seeking local production of Tamiflu to combat new flu

By Nam Kwang-shik
SEOUL, Aug. 20 (Yonhap) -- SK Chemicals Co., a South Korean pharmaceutical and
chemical products manufacturer, is pushing to produce the antiviral drug Tamiflu
locally via a contract with an Indian pharmaceutical company, health authorities
said Thursday.
"SK Chemicals has signed a deal with India's Hetero Drugs Ltd. to receive
pharmaceutical ingredients for Tamiflu to make a generic version of the drug,"
the Korea Food and Drug Administration said.
Prior to production of the patented drug, however, SK Chemicals must first get
approval from Gilead Sciences of the United States and F. Hoffmann-La Roche of
Switzerland. Gilead is a Tamiflu developer and Roche is the holder of the patent
for the drug.
An alternative would be for the government to exercise its authority nullifying
the patent at a time of emergency, thus allowing for local production of the
vaccine.
"If the government exercises its authority, we will produce Tamiflu domestically
while paying royalties to Gilead," an official at SK Chemicals said.
Earlier in the day, local health authorities announced they will expand their
antiviral drug stockpile to be able to inoculate 15 to 20 percent of the
country's population of 49 million ahead of a possible increase in the spread of
the H1N1 virus, also known as swine flu.
The move comes after two South Koreans were found to have died of complications
caused by the disease over the weekend, marking the first fatalities since early
May when the country reported its first confirmed case of the new flu.
South Korea has been relatively insulated from the virus, but the rate of
infection has accelerated as more cases have been confirmed involving local
transmission of the disease.
ksnam@yna.co.kr
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