Taiwan is planning a trial production of the anti-viral drug Tamiflu
in December to prepare for a possible outbreak of bird flu here, a
health official said.
'We will continue efforts seeking a patent authorization from the
Swiss company Roche to mass manufacture Tamiflu but the trial
production will go ahead to meet emergency needs,' said Li Jih-heng
from the health department.
'The drug will be used to contain bird flu in the event of an
outbreak, not for commercial purposes,' Li told Agence France-Presse.
The health authorities have acquired enough material to begin trial
production for the treatment of 200,000 people in December, he said.
Taiwan is pushing for negotiations with Roche Holding AG and will also
discuss compensation if the drug is used prior to approval from the
firm, he said.
Health officials had earlier said Taiwan has acquired materials to
make enough Tamiflu to treat 2.3 mln people, or 10 pct of the
population.
Fears over a possible bird flu outbreak intensified here after eight
pet birds smuggled from China tested positive for the H5N1 virus last
week. All the smuggled birds had been destroyed.
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