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Thai Experts Urge Finding Alternative Bird Flu Drug to Tamiflu

Posted on: Monday, 7 November 2005, 03:00 CST

Excerpt from report by Preeyanat Phanayanggoor, published in English by Thai newspaper Bangkok Post website on 7 November

Faced with a shortage of the best available antiviral drug against bird flu, Tamiflu, and other influenza vaccines, experts say Thailand should look for alternatives in preparing for a possible bird flu pandemic. At present, the country has in stock around 660,000 tablets of the anti-viral drug oseltamivir, the generic name for Tamiflu, and around 170,000 doses of flu vaccine.

Thawat Suntrajarn, head of the Disease Control Department, said the Tamiflu supply could treat around 66,000 bird flu patients and help prevent influenza in 170,000 people exposed to the disease, such as medical personnel and livestock officials. Under the three- year National Plan for Avian Influenza Control and Influenza Pandemic Preparedness (2005-7), there must be sufficient supply of anti-viral drugs for 325,000 patients, or 3.25m tablets.

He said around one million tablets of Tamiflu and 450,000 doses of flu vaccines are ordered for next year but there is no guarantee that the order, which was made under a gentleman's agreement, will be met. [passage omitted]

Virology expert Prasert Thongcharoen, president of the Influenza Foundation in Thailand, said he is concerned about drug resistance as the Public Health Ministry has eased criteria for providing the anti-viral drug to patients suspected of being infected with avian flu. [passage omitted]

One case of drug resistance has been found in Vietnam. However, researchers have started to warn about the possibility of Tamiflu resistance. [passage omitted]

Dr Prasert said authorities should start thinking about ordering other drugs beside Tamiflu.

The Government Pharmaceutical Organization (GPO) plans to produce around one million capsules of the generic version of Tamiflu by next year. The Thai version would reduce the price per capsule from 120 baht to 70 baht.

The GPO is also negotiating with French and Chinese pharmaceutical firms to produce influenza vaccines in Thailand. Mongkol Jivasantikarn, GPO's managing director, said cooperation with China's Sinovac Biotech was possible.

A team of health officials from the GPO and the Medical Science Department would visit China on 16 November to talk to the company, he said. Dr Mongkol admitted it would take at least three years for an influenza vaccine to be made here.

Source: BBC Monitoring Asia Pacific

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