Cheaper anti-bird-flu drugs on the way
Thailand will begin producing an anti-avian flu tablets later this month that will cost half its normal price, Government Pharmaceutical Organisation (GPO) director Mongkhol Jiwasantikarn said yesterday.
The first batch of 200,000 tablets of Oseltamivir will be available once the GPO's new production line begins operating later this month, when the GPO was expected to obtain approval by the Food and Drug Administration.Oseltamivir is an antiviral drug used in the treatment of both Influenzavirus A and Influenzavirus B. Each tablet made by the GPO costs Bt70, half the current market price of Bt140. The GPO is capable of producing 400,000 Oseltamivir tablets a day. The GPO has already ordered the purchase of ingredients needed to produce a million tablets of Oseltamivir. Dr Mongkhol said a new GPO plant in Saraburi will be completed in August. The budget for the Bt1.4-billion plant has been supported by World Health Organisation.
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