India to Manufacture Swine Flu Drug Raw Material
Posted on Sep 18, 2009 by Reena Daruwalla | Comments 0
Although the H1N1 Swine Flu vaccine is still some time away from being produced in India (Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad has indicated that it will be April 2010 before we can hope to see it in India) raw material for the drug Oseltamivir is now going to be available in India.
Shikimic acid, which is the key ingredient, is currently being imported and will now be made in India said the health minister, which will make the drug more accessible to people in India, which is currently expensive: a 10-tablet strip of the drug costs Rs.280 when bought over-the-counter, as reported here.
Shikimic acid, a white crystalline compound of nonnitrogenous acid found in various plants naturally, is needed to produce Oseltamivir, which is currently being imported into the country. It is thought that China is also working on producing this anti viral drug so since India will be in competition, it is hoped that it will be produced cheaper here.
Meanwhile this Hindustan Times report, pegs the number of deaths occurring from the swine flu virus in India at 220 and the total number of positive swine flu cases in the country is above seven thousand.
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Posted in: Swine Flu Drugs
