Thai anti-viral drug effective to counter bird flu: official

Tests show the Thai-made generic version of the anti-viral drug Oseltamivir, better known as Tamiflu, is safe and effective in the treatment and prevention of avian influenza, according to a top official of a state-owned drug firm.

The Thai-produced Oseltamivir, called "A" Flu, which is manufactured by the Government Pharmaceutical Organization (GPO), will be submitted to Thailand's Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for registration within the coming two months, GPO managing director Mongkol Jivasantikarn said on Wednesday.

According to Mongkol, the Faculty of Medicine at Siriraj Hospital carried out bio-equivalence studies and clinical trials in 30 patients. The tests showed the Thai-made anti-bird flu drug to be bio-equivalent to the Tamiflu in terms of absorption, disposition and efficacy.

Mongkol was quoted by the state-run Thai News Agency as saying that the GPO has a capacity to produce 400,000 tablets of the generic drug every day and has a stockpile of active ingredients sufficient to produce 800,000 tablets immediately.

But the state pharmaceutical firm would wait for instruction from the Disease Control Department before starting production as the tablets have a relative short shelf life of about two years.

The Thai government has said it planned to build a stockpile of million tablets of the antiviral drug as a defence against the possible flu pandemic.

Mongkol declined to comment if Thailand would export the generic to neighboring countries.

"Whether we would export it to our neighbors depends mainly on whether the drug is still under patent protection in those countries and whether we could meet the demand here in Thailand," he said.

Just on Tuesday, Thai northeastern province of Nong Khai was confirmed as the country's second bird flu outbreaking province this year. About 10 days earlier, authorities also found the deadly H5N1 virus in ducks in northern Phitsanulok province.

Source: Xinhua