The head of Roche's pharmaceutical division has told securities analysts that the world has gone mad for its antiviral drug Tamiflu. Governments around the globe have been clamoring for the drug--now back ordered by more than a year--which could have a therapeutic effect against an outbreak of bird flu. At the same time, William M. Burns offered only vague comments about Roche's willingness to discuss licensing Tamiflu to other companies and other countries. Specifically, there is no word yet if Roche will allow generics manufacturers to make the drug. Cipla in India has announced that it has reverse-engineered the process and will make it available.
- read this report in The New York Times for more
ALSO: Health officials have grown alarmed by signs that avian flu is being spread by migratory birds. Based on the birds' migrations, they fear that East Africa may soon see signs of the lethal virus, which is currently spread from birds to humans. Authorities are alarmed that it would be virtually impossible to track avian flu in East Africa, which has a minimal health system and where the chances of a virus mutating into a human infectious disease are far more likely than many other regions. Article
PLUS: Indonesian health officials neglected the spread of avian flu in its bird populations, allowing people to become infected and raising the risk of a pandemic. Report