Rising cases force govt to weigh open sale of flu drug

NEW DELHI: The swine flu outbreak, classified by the WHO as a ���public health emergency of international concern��� may see Indian drugmakers pitching in with the sale of anti-viral drug oseltamivir, the medicine to treat swine flu, through private hospitals. With the number of swine flu cases increasing, the government is now considering allowing sale of oseltamivir through private hospitals and in retail stores, a health ministry official said.

The government has decided to allow private laboratories with high level of bio-safety to conduct swine flu tests but only after they are accredited by the health ministry.

���Since many people are visiting private hospitals, we are planning to enable them to treat patients in case of emergency. We are discussing the issue with experts and may soon allow the sale of the drug through private hospitals for the time being,��� the official said on condition of anonymity.

Currently, the government does not allow the sale of the drug in the open market and in private hospitals by pharmacies. Drugmakers manufacturing or importing oseltamivir are allowed to either sell it to government hospitals or directly to the government through a tender.

Some state governments have already started accrediting private hospitals too to treat swine flu patients, in the wake of government-run hospitals being overrun by people wanting to be tested or treated. Eleven private hospitals in Bangalore have been accredited by the state after the health ministry took a decision in this regard. Other state governments are also following suit.

The government also said it will follow the international trend for allowing vaccines for swine flu in the market. ���If there is an emergency in the country and WHO recommends relaxing clinical trial norms to launch the vaccine, we may consider that,��� the official said.

The number of swine flu deaths in the country stands at four now following the death of an NRI in Ahmedabad on Sunday morning.