[Ip-health] Biolyse

[John Fulton]

March 4 2006

Local drugmaker hopes to gain export rights for flu vaccine

By Don Fraser

St.Catharines Standard

Efforts made by a St.Catharines pharmaceutical company to persuade the fede=
ral government to let it export a generic bird flu drug appear to be bearin=
g fruit.

 Biolyse Pharma Corp. is asking the government to add oseltamivir, its gene=
ric version of Tamiflu to the list of pharmaceutical products eligible for =
export under the Patent Act.

It wants to export the drug to developing nations that need to stockpile th=
e product, which is produced partly from extracting shikimic acid from pine=
 needles.

 The patent for Tamiflu, which could be used as a defense against a bird fl=
u pandemic, is held by F.Hoffman La-Roche of Switzerland and U.S.-based Gil=
ead Sciences. The companies, however, cannot make enough bird-flu drug to s=
upply demand.

 Acccording to Biolyse vice-president John Fulton, a ministry of industry o=
fficial said there should be no reason =93ethically, legally or otherwise, =
that Tamiflu should not be added to the list of drugs.=94

 Fullton said given that the initial ministry response was favourable, he e=
xpects Oseltamivir will soon be added to the exportable list. =93The offici=
al said that the request will be given the due it deserves,=92 said Fulton.=
 =93They=92re going to act quickly on it.=94

 =93There are a lot of hoops that you have to jump through,=94 he added.

 Should Olsetamivir make the list, Biolyse will request a voluntary license=
 from the Tamiflu patent holders.

Biolyse says if a voluntary license cannot be arranged within 30 days, it w=
ill ask the government of Canada to issue a compulsory license.

 The company says it will be supplying the drug to developing nations at on=
e quarter the normal selling

price.

dfraser@st.catharinesstandard.ca