The Hindu Business Line : Hetero to sell bird-flu drug to Indonesia, Bangladesh

The Hyderabad-based drug company Hetero Drugs Ltd is set to export bird-flu drug Oseltamivir to countries such as Indonesia and Bangladesh, putting to rest industry speculation that Hetero had a conditional agreement with Roche that restrained it from exporting the drug.

Hetero is the only Indian company that has been given a sub-licence to make and market Oseltamivir by Roche, the Swiss drug-maker that markets the drug globally under the brandname Tamiflu.

Hetero's Director-Marketing, Mr Srinivas Reddy, told Business Line that the company would export five million doses of the bird-flu drug to Indonesian company Indofarm. Hetero would also transfer technology on the drug to the Indonesian company, he said. The Indonesian market is crucial as humans have tested positive to the bird-flu virus.

Hetero is also in talks with companies in Bangladesh, including Beximco, to market the bulk ingredient or the finished dosage form of the drug. He said negotiations were under way.

There were no royalty payments between these companies and Hetero, he said, was unwilling to divulge the royalty that Hetero has to pay Roche.

He said that the company was well within its rights to sell the drug to semi-regulated and unregulated markets. Only the US and European markets, where product-patents are protected, were off-limits for Hetero.

Meanwhile, with more cases of bird-flu being reported out of Maharashtra, he said Hetero had already supplied about seven lakh doses to the Government. It has also indicated to the authorities that one million doses in bulk drug stock were ready and can be made into the drug at short notice. The drug is sold by Hetero in India at about Rs 710 for 10 tablets.

The Government is assured about the availability of Oseltamivir, said an analyst watching the developments. Besides Hetero and Roche, other Indian companies such as Cipla and Ranbaxy had already begun marketing the drug or are in the process of doing so, he said

More Stories on : Announcements | Poultry | Pharmaceuticals | Exports & Imports

Article E-Mail :: Comment :: Syndication :: Printer Friendly Page

Stories in this Section
Hetero to sell bird-flu drug to Indonesia, Bangladesh

First MRPL retail outlet by Diwali: Raha

ECBs by Indian cos may cross $15 b this fiscal

Stymied by the bogey of national security

Bombay Dyeing to set up new facility in Pune

`Birdflu scare will affect results'