News - Hyderabad pharma firm gets licence for bird flu drug, Ranbaxy too will get one

While major pharma players are looking at the international market to manufacture the Avian flu drug Tamiflu, Hetero Drugs Ltd, a Hyderabad-based company which is relatively young in the pharmaceutical industry, has got the licence to manufacture the drug in bulk for Indian markets.
According to the Drug Controller General of India, licence for Ranbaxy Laboratories is also in the offing.

??Hetero Drugs has been given the licence last week. Ranbaxy is likely to get the licence soon,?? said Dr Ashwani Kumar, Drug Controller General of India. Roche has also been given permission to market the drug in India. ??We just had three applications, no other drug company applied,?? said Dr Kumar.

Ranbaxy is also at an advanced stage of talks with Roche for a licence to make the birdflu drug. ??Talks with Roche are on and are progressing in the right direction. We are also in touch with countries which have no patent issues. We are trying to make arrangements with Roche to do business together,?? said Ramesh L Adige of Ranbaxy Laboratories Ltd. He refused to comment on the licence for the country.

Hyderabad pharma firm gets licence for bird flu drug, Ranbaxy too will get one