National

Indonesia Receives License to Produce Tamiflu
Saturday, 26 November, 2005 | 12:46 WIB

TEMPO Interactive, Jakarta:The Indonesian Minister of Health Siti Fadilah Supari said that the Indonesian government had received a license from the Roche company in Switzerland to produce anti-virus flu medicine, Tamiflu, in Indonesia.

“Several hours ago, we received information from Roche that Indonesia has permission to produce tamiflu,” Supari stated after receiving support from the Singaporean government on Friday (25/11).

According to Supari, Indonesia is seeking the purchase of raw materials from Korea. This plan has been revealed at a coordination meeting at the ministerial level on Thursday (24/11).

According to Indonesian Coordinating Minister for People’s Welfare Alwi Shihab, basically, the license can be given if the countries are in an emergency situation. However, the Indonesian government still sent a letter to Roche President Director asking for the license. “This involves human safety,” stated Shihab.

Obtaining the license to produce Tamiflu in Indonesia is urgent. Without it, medicine and vaccine to prevent the bird flu will not be available in a short period.

Indonesia must have bird flu medicine at least 11 percent of the total population. Currently, the number of Indonesian people is around 220 million people. (Ami Afriatni-Tempo News Room)