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Nations that purchased stockpiles of Tamiflu in 2003 and 2004 are faced with a looming expiration date. Vietnam thinks they may have an answer.
Vietnam can reprocess expired Tamiflu: scientist
Vietnam’s National Institute of Chemistry said it is conducting a project to extract the active ingredient from expired Tamiflu to reproduce the antiviral drug for reuse in treating bird flu patients.
Dr. Nguyen Van Hung, deputy head of the Institute of Chemistry under the Vietnam Scientific and Technological Institute, said if succeeding, the project would help not only save money for the State budget but also avoid the environmental impact of dealing with expired medicines.
Oseltamivir phosphate, the key ingredient in manufacturing Tamiflu, is made mainly from the anise essential oil through a costly and complicated process.
The institute was also carrying out a State-funded project to produce oseltamivir phosphate from Vietnamese anise attar. The project, costing VND3 billion (US$187,000) is scheduled to be completed in April next year.
After perfecting the process of producing oseltamivir phosphate on a small scale, the institute would transfer it to the health sector for trial production of Tamiflu in Vietnam, Hung said.
The deadly H5N1 bird flu strain has killed 42 Vietnamese since 2003, the world’s second highest death toll after Indonesia’s 74.
