UAE approves local production of Tamiflu-like medicine

The UAE Ministry of Health (MoH) has given its approval for a national pharmaceutical company to start production of a medicine similar to Tamiflu, which is used in treating H1N1 infections. The approval came during a meeting of the Higher Committee for Registration and Pricing of Medicines, chaired by Dr Abdul Rahim Ja'afar, an Advisor at the MoH.

According to Dr Amin Hussein Al-Amiri, MoH executive director for Medical Practices and Licence Affairs, the committee gave the approval to the company following a close study and scrutiny of the company's proposal and the committee's findings which have proven beyond reasonable doubts that the product is safe and meets international standards. The UAE is one of the first countries to have acquired patent rights from the mother companies producing Tamiflu.