[Commons-Law] Tamiflu firms in licensing deal

[TAHIR AMIN]

Tamiflu firms in licensing deal
Drug firms Roche and Gilead have set aside their
differences and struck a deal over the production of
Tamiflu, the main weapon against a flu pandemic.
The two companies have been in arbitration after
Tamiflu inventor Gilead moved to break up a 1996
licensing agreement earlier this year.

Roche will pay Gilead $62.5m (£36m) and royalties of
between 14% and 22%.

Concerns about the spread of bird flu and the speed
with which governments need to prepare have prompted
the deal.

'Global threat'

"We have ended our dispute with Roche in an effort to
work together, with the utmost diligence, to address
this global public health need," said Gilead chief
executive John Martin.

"The global threat of a potential avian flu pandemic
has challenged governments, public health officials
and the pharmaceutical industry to join together in
partnership for the purpose of establishing a
comprehensive plan to combat this deadly disease."


The money is not a great deal 
Claude Zehnder, ZKB
Governments have been stepping up their efforts to
stop the spread of bird flu and have been looking at
ways of protecting their populations.

Roche has been discussing licensing the production of
the drug to other firms and nations in an effort to
ensure that enough of the medicine is available should
it be needed.

In the UK, the Department of Health has placed an
order for 14.6 million courses of Tamiflu to cover a
quarter of the population in the event of a flu
pandemic

Sales of Tamiflu are expected to top the $1bn mark.

Better deal

As part of the new agreement, Gilead will have more
say in how production of Tamiflu is boosted, and will
pay a smaller share of manufacturing costs.

The row broke out because Gilead felt that Roche had
not done enough to market Tamiflu in the US, and had
failed to sell it as a seasonal flu treatment in other
markets.

Gilead will now have a greater role in how and where
Tamiflu is marketed.

"The money is not a great deal," said Claude Zehnder,
an analyst at Swiss bank ZKB. "But it is certainly a
good thing that they have agreed this amicably."


		
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