Vis-a-vis fears of a world shortage of the principal antiviral drug considered it able to stop a pandemia of influenza, the Indian laboratory Cipla announced Thursday that it was going to produce its own generic copies of Tamiflu. Admittedly, this one is perhaps not effective with 100% (to read below) but there are all the same a real "need and threats of out-of-stock conditions", justifies Amar Lulla, executive director of Cipla, by envisaging the first batches of the molecule for December, under its scientific name to oseltamivir.

Forecast. Up to that point, only Switzerland Rock, holder of the patent on Tamiflu, provided planet in pills, and in particular the governments which store some in forecast of a pandemia. "More than forty governments already placed order", indicates Olivier Hurstel, spokesman of Rock. France should thus have in December nearly 14 million amounts.

To face, Roche multiplied its output per eight since 2003 and still hopes to increase it. "One answers without concern the request", affirms Olivier Hurstel. A speech reassuring more and more disputed, because of many countries ­ whose ­ United States did not store enough Tamiflu and delivery periods (twelve to eighteen months) could lengthen. And the majority of the countries of the South are still stripped.

Urgency. The European Commission stated Thursday to negotiate with Roche to still inflate its production. More radically, the general manager of Center for Diseases Control of Taiwan suggested Tuesday making jump the patent of Rock. The step, authorized in many countries in the event of medical urgency, would consist in authorizing other laboratories to be produced of Tamiflu. Rock affirms that the manufacturing process is too complex so that a competitor can control it in less than three years. "It is difficult to develop, but we succeeded", affirms Amar Lulla. Cipla does not hope to defy Roche on its intellectual property and swears to aim only "the markets where the drug is not covered by a patent", Lulla continues. It is the case of India, because the country recognizes the patents on the drugs only since January 1, well after the marketing of Tamiflu. But also of African and Asian countries, among poorest.

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