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Officials ask for Roche to recall HIV treatment drug

The Department of Health yesterday said it had asked Roche Holding AG to immediately recall an HIV treatment drug.

It made the call in a press release following a report that Europe's drug regulating body had recalled Viracept, made by the company, on Wednesday because of contamination.

"Contamination has been identified at the manufacturing stage ... the steps taken to recall Viracept go down to the level of the individual patient," said Michael Harvey, a spokesman for the European Medicines Agency.

Patients taking Viracept -- an antiretroviral agent for use in HIV therapy -- should return the drug to their physician and request a replacement therapy, Harvey said.

The nation's health department said in its press release that the license for Viracept's future importation would not be revoked.

All major hospitals nationwide have been alerted and told to change to alternative medication for patients currently using Viracept, it said.

According to the department's figures, 1091 bottles of the drug have been sold to 24 clinics and hospitals since the nation started importing the affected product.

Tsai Chao-cheng (蔡朝正), corporate affairs director for Roche Products Ltd, was quoted as saying in a Central News Agency (CNA) report yesterday that the firm had not received any adverse reports about Viracept in Taiwan. The firm would contact local hospitals for more information, he said.

Tsai urged patients prescribed Viracept to stop using the medicine and contact their doctors immediately, CNA reported.

The Swiss pharmaceutical company conducted a chemical analysis on the drug after six patients reported that their batches of Viracept emitted strange odors.

"A detailed chemical analysis of the affected tablets showed they contain higher than normal levels of methane sulfonic acid ethylester," the company said.

Roche said in a statement that it is recalling all batches of Viracept, in cooperation with the European watchdog and Switzerland's drug regulator, in Europe and in some other undisclosed countries.

Additional reporting by Angelica Oung
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