The Hindu Business Line : Panel to examine compulsory licensing of bird flu drug

WITH growing worries about the spread of bird flu, the Health Ministry has constituted a high-level committee to examine the legal implications of invoking the compulsory licensing provision to ensure the availability of the patented anti-viral drugs in the event of an epidemic.

The Health Minister, Dr A. Ramadoss, said, "People need not panic about the spread of bird flu in India. We are working towards full-preparedness. If an emergency-like situation arises, under the World Trade Organisation agreement, we have a clause called Compulsory Licensing, which can be invoked."

This allows governments to intervene and permit production patent protected drugs by other companies in public interest.

The committee comprising the Drug Controller General of India, the Director General of Health Services and the officials of the Department of Chemicals and Fertilisers and Industry Ministry will examine the legal issues and advise the Government shortly.

Currently, Swiss drugmaker Roche holds the patents to manufacture Tamiflu, the anti-viral drug used to treat bird flu. Meanwhile, Cipla too recently announced that it would be ready with generic versions of Roche's drug Tamiflu by the year-end.

The Prime Minister is also expected to chair a meeting on the spread of avian influenza, with the National Security Advisor also providing inputs. "We have also asked the World Health Organisation to list out the steps to be taken to prevent the spread of this disease," Dr Ramadoss said. Along with this, the Government is also looking at the possibility of manufacturing the vaccine at one of its own units in India.

Meanwhile, the Health Ministry is also working in co-ordination with the Department of Animal Husbandry and the Environment Ministry. It has already banned import of poultry from countries affected by bird flu. The Environment Ministry is also monitoring migratory birds, which are also known to spread the disease.

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