No Roche patent here, India Inc can produce bird flu drug: Govt

When it comes to India, Swiss pharma giant Roche does not have a ‘‘product patent’’ for Tamiflu, its highly prized anti-...

When it comes to India, Swiss pharma giant Roche does not have a ‘‘product patent’’ for Tamiflu, its highly prized anti-influenza drug, the only one known to be effective against bird flu. Roche has a patent in most countries valid until 2016 but has been a bit slow tapping the Indian market.

This means Indian companies can now manufacture generic versions of the drug for Indian markets but cannot export these products.

Confirming this to The Indian Express, Dr Ashwani Kumar, Drug Controller General of India, said: ‘‘Roche does not have a product patent in India and international patent is not enough according to Indian patent laws. The companies can manufacture generic versions of the drug medicine by filing a licensing application with the government.’’

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But the government hasn’t received any applications from Indian companies yet.

Speaking to The Indian Express from Basel, Switzerland, spokesperson for Roche Martina Rupp said the firm had a patent pending in India. ‘‘This is not about patents but it is about manufacturing capacity. Our doors are open for companies to come and have a fact-based discussion with us,’’ she said. ‘‘The manufacturing of Tamiflu is lengthy and expensive and we have a lot of experience in it.’’

Ranbaxy, which is talking to Roche, says it’s not just looking at the Indian market.

‘‘We have approached Roche for a non-exclusive license for all countries. The issue cannot be looked at country wise,’’ said Ramesh L. Adige, ED for Corporate Affairs.

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According to him, however, drugs for India should not be a problem.

‘‘We are willing to manufacture the drugs with cooperation with the government of India,’’ he added.

Speaking to The Indian Express, Amar Lulla, Joint Managing Director of Cipla—which said it would be ready with a generic version by early next year—agreed that manufacturing in India should not be a problem under the new scenario.

Last week Ranbaxy and Cipla both wrote to Roche expressing their desire to manufacture Tamiflu’s generic version. Roche had earlier said it wants to remain the drug’s lone manufacturer but has shown flexibility following international pressure.

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In a statement last week, it said it’s ready to license the drug to generic companies across the world.

EU bans bird import

BRUSSELS:The EU has banned imports of pet birds after a parrot died of the H5N1 strain in Britain. Indonesia, meanwhile, confirmed that a fourth person had died of bird flu. China said hundreds of farm geese had died after a fresh outbreak . —Reuters