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    Korea
     Apr 25, 2006
Yuhan to make Tamiflu

SEOUL - South Korean drug maker Yuhan said Roche Holding AG has selected it as one of the producers of Tamiflu, the only drug known to effectively treat humans who contract bird flu.

The Swiss pharmaceutical company had been in negotiations with four South Korean drug makers, including Yuhan, to choose a local supplier for the patented drug.

The two companies agreed Monday that Roche Holding will provide 5.1 tons of intermediate substances to produce the drug, the company said in a regulatory filing.

According to the Swiss-based company's statement on March 16,



Roch has selected more than 15 production partners in nine countries.

Scientists warn that the bird flu virus could mutate into one that could easily be transmitted from one person to another, causing a global pandemic.

To prepare for this, nations have been scrambling to stockpile Tamiflu, but Roche's production capacity has not been able to meet demand.

The H5N1 strain of the bird flu virus has infected at least 204 people around the world, 113 of whom have died, since December 2003, according to the latest tally by the World Health Organization.

(Asia Pulse/Yonhap)

 

 
 



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