Bird flu drug: Orders placed with Roche

This ‘‘preliminary arrangement’’ will cost the government around Rs 6 crore — the company price for the medicine in case of the pandemic is Rs 60 per capsule. The medicine has a five-day course.

Gupta said the procurement is a part of the international effort to stockpile the medicines as the scientific community fears a bird flu pandemic, if the current strain of avian flu mutates and starts transmitting from humans to humans.

Currently the strain, which is found in birds, has jumped to humans in some cases, causing 61 deaths in the world so far.

The Indian generic companies are not been considered for a supply of the medicine because they have not even applied for a licence to manufacture it.

‘‘They are not in the picture and it would be premature to talk about whether they are likely to manufacture. The government has received no applications from them even as they are talking to Roche about the issue,’’ he added.

The Swiss company Roche doesn’t have a patent for Tamiflu (Oseltamivir) in India. However, it has a patent in most of the other countries, valid till 2016.

Roche has been a bit slow in working out the dynamics in the Indian market, doctors say.

This means the Indian companies can manufacture the drug for Indian market. This, however, does not allow them to export their generic products worldwide.

Roche had earlier said they want to remain the lone manufacturers of the drug in the world but have been talking to generic drug companies following international pressure. Indian drug companies Cipla and Ranbaxy have written to Roche about giving voluntary license for manufacture.