Cos ready to meet Tamiflu demand

The central government’s decision to stockpile another 20 million capsules of generic Tamiflu (Oseltamivir) to strengthen its preparedness to fight the H1N1 epidemic has alerted domestic pharmaceutical companies.

Two months earlier, the government had asked all companies capable of manufacturing oseltamivir to stockpile necessary raw materials (bulk drugs) to be ready for any emergency. These companies are now readying to exhaust their stocks.

They are keeping their fingers crossed on the quantity of capsules they will have to supply, as these will be on a very low price margin. The pricing structure for the current procurement is not clear.

Hetero, which had been the sole supplier of Oseltamivir capsules during the central government’s previous procurement programme, has expressed willingness to provide the entire lot of 20 million capsules on a short notice. Hetero had earlier supplied 10 million capsules to the central government.

Cipla, Natco, Ranbaxy and Strides Acrolabs have also conveyed their willingness to supply the medicines, though on a much smaller scale. Roche, the only multinational in the fray, is also among the shortlisted firms.

According to Hetero officials, the company is capable of meeting the entire requirement on a 10 days’ notice. “Hetero has been a leading supplier of oseltamivir to the developing world and has shipped over 80 million capsules to over 60 countries in Latin America, Middle East and South East Asia,” its officials said.

Ranbaxy president Ramesh Adige said the company has the capacity to produce close to a million capsules in the next few weeks. “We have so far supplied oseltamivir to Malaysia, Oman and a country in Africa.” he said.

Cipla officials said the company can manufacture three million capsules per week, subject to availability of the active pharmaceutical ingredient (raw material). Cipla has shipped oseltamivir to countries like Honduras, Guyana, Panama, Peru, Columbia, Dominician Republic, South Africa, etc, an official said in an email response.

The Strides’ spokesperson said it had the technical expertise and regulatory approval to manufacture the medicine from its Bangalore facility.