Taiwan will produce enough of the avian flu relief medicine Tamiflu for 2 million patients before next March, said Su Ih-jen (蘇益仁), the director of the national Vaccine Center under the National Health Research Institute said during a press conference yesterday.
In a briefing to Premier Frank Hsieh (謝長廷), who visited the institute in Chunan (竹南), Miaoli County, Su said the institute, which has succeeded in synthesizing the drug, has transfered the necessary technology to produce shikimic acid, the vital ingredient in Tamiflu, to a local company that will begin mass production.
license agreement
The government is also discussing a licensing agreement with Swiss pharmaceutical giant Roche, the manufacturer of Tamiflu, for domestic production of the drug.
Su did not say whether permission from Roche has been received to produce the drug in Taiwan.
According to Su, the Vaccine Center has also succeeded in developing the technology to produce a vaccine against avian flu and will be capable of manufacturing more than 100,000 doses of the vaccine in a matter of weeks if an epidemic of avian flu breaks out.
cooperation
Meanwhile, a Department of Health official said yesterday that the US and Hungary are willing to cooperate with other countries in the development of flu vaccines.
Lee Jih-heng (李志恆), director of the department's office on new flu controls, made the remarks after reporting on an avian and pandemic influenza preparedness and response meeting held during the APEC forum in Australia last week. Lee represented the department at the meeting.
He noted that a US delegate pointed out in the meeting that the US welcomes other nations taking part in the research and development of new flu vaccines, but the idea is only tentative.
The participants unanimously said that no country should let down their guard against avian flu and should stockpile the anti-viral drug Tamiflu.
The Australian government has also decided to donate 50,000 courses of Tamiflu to Vietnam, becoming the second country in the Asia-Pacific region to do so after Taiwan.
biotechnology
In addition, Lee said that a Hungarian ministerial official visited the department a day earlier, hoping to bring about bilateral cooperation in research and development of vaccines in biotechnology and pharmaceuticals.
Hungary announced recently the successful development of a new avian flu vaccine.
Taiwan would benefit from more integrated military strategies and deployments if the US and its allies treat the East China Sea, the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea as a “single theater of operations,” a Taiwanese military expert said yesterday. Shen Ming-shih (沈明室), a researcher at the Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said he made the assessment after two Japanese military experts warned of emerging threats from China based on a drill conducted this month by the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) Eastern Theater Command. Japan Institute for National Fundamentals researcher Maki Nakagawa said the drill differed from the
‘WORSE THAN COMMUNISTS’: President William Lai has cracked down on his political enemies and has attempted to exterminate all opposition forces, the chairman said The legislature would motion for a presidential recall after May 20, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said yesterday at a protest themed “against green communists and dictatorship” in Taipei. Taiwan is supposed to be a peaceful homeland where people are united, but President William Lai (賴清德) has been polarizing and tearing apart society since his inauguration, Chu said. Lai must show his commitment to his job, otherwise a referendum could be initiated to recall him, he said. Democracy means the rule of the people, not the rule of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), but Lai has failed to fulfill his
A rally held by opposition parties yesterday demonstrates that Taiwan is a democratic country, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday, adding that if opposition parties really want to fight dictatorship, they should fight it on Tiananmen Square in Beijing. The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) held a protest with the theme “against green communists and dictatorship,” and was joined by the Taiwan People’s Party. Lai said the opposition parties are against what they called the “green communists,” but do not fight against the “Chinese communists,” adding that if they really want to fight dictatorship, they should go to the right place and face
A fugitive in a suspected cosmetic surgery fraud case today returned to Taiwan from Canada, after being wanted for six years. Internet celebrity Su Chen-tuan (蘇陳端), known as Lady Nai Nai (貴婦奈奈), and her former boyfriend, plastic surgeon Paul Huang (黃博健), allegedly defrauded clients and friends of about NT$1 billion (US$30.66 million). Su was put on a wanted list in 2019 when she lived in Toronto, Canada, after failing to respond to subpoenas and arrest warrants from the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office. Su arrived at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport at 5am today on an EVA Air flight accompanied by a
RSS