Roche selects 12 potential partners to make Tamiflu

Swiss drugmaker Roche Holding AG said Monday it has chosen 12 potential partners for the production of Tamiflu and granted one sublicense for the antiviral drug to Shanghai Pharmaceutical.

The Basel-based Roche said it compiled the shortlist of potential partners, which it did not identify, after evaluating around 200 applicants interested in helping with certain steps in the manufacture of &to=http://english.pravda.ru/society/2005/11/18/67935.html' target=_blank>Tamiflu. It didn't say how many it would finally choose.

Roche said it would mainly use the partners, which include major pharmaceutical makers, large generic manufacturers and specialty chemical producers, as a backup, to meet specific regional needs and to prepare for any large additional government orders in the future.