Thai-made anti-bird flu drug on sale in November

BANGKOK, Aug 3 (Reuters) Thailand, which had its first human death from bird flu in July after an eight-month lull, is due to launch its own version of Roche's Tamiflu anti-viral drug in November, a top state drug firm official said today.

The Government Pharmaceutical Organisation would initially produce one million capsules of the drug, known generically as oseltamivia, for a government stockpile of 3 million Tamiflu capsules, he said.

''With the 100 kilogrammes of raw material we have in stock, we can easily start with one million capsules,'' GPO deputy managing director Wanchai Subhachaturus told Reuters.

''If the problem escalates, we should have enough time to import more raw material from India, which would take two months to arrive,'' he said.

The GPO designated one production line in Bangkok to produce up to 400,000 capsules a day and could turn to seven more to produce the drug, called GPO-A-Flu, if a pandemic hit the country, Wanchai said.

The drug would cost 70 baht (1.9 dollars) a capsule, 40 per cent cheaper than Roche's Tamiflu in the Thai market.

Tamiflu was invented by Gilead Sciences Inc. and licensed to Swiss drug maker Roche in 1996.

The drug, a neuraminidase inhibitor, is seen as the best defence against a human pandemic that could be started by bird flu, which has been found in wild birds across Asia and Europe.

The GPO was awaiting clinical test results before seeking approval of GPO-A-Flu from the Food and Drug Administration in October, Wanchai said.

REUTERS DKB PM1606