EU says Roche to lift anti-viral output

EU says Roche to lift anti-viral output


Roche will not stop European countries from stockpiling its Tamiflu anti-viral drug in preparation for a possible flu pandemic.

The Swiss pharmaceutical company said on Thursday that it would allow other companies to produce the drug under licence, even though it holds the exclusive patent rights.

Roche will also expand its own production capacity to cope with increasing demand.

The company’s chief executive, Franz Humer, made the commitments during talks with EU Health Commissioner Markos Kyprianou on Thursday.

The spread of bird flu to Europe has raised fears of a human flu pandemic caused by a mutated strain of the avian virus.

Kyprianou has called on every EU member state to stockpile anti-viral drugs such as Tamiflu or Relenza, made by GlaxoSmithKline, in preparation for an eventual outbreak.

But several smaller member states are concerned that they will be overlooked as companies strive to fill orders from much larger countries.

A European Commission spokesman said that Roche treated orders on a first-come, first-served basis, but that it had capacity to fill smaller orders at the same time as larger ones.

The spokesman also confirmed that five member states have yet to provide details of their anti-viral stocks, although he declined to say which countries were concerned.