Tamiflu to be available in market

Tamiflu, the only drug for swine flu, will be made available in 480 chemist outlets across the country, the Centre today said.

In a notification, the government said the sale of 'Oseltamivir Phosphate' and 'Zanamivir' or any other preparation of Tamiflu, shall be governed by the Schedule X of the Drugs and Cosmetics Rule, 1945, which makes it mandatory for pharmacists to keep a record of prescriptions, name of the prescribing doctor and the person to whom it was sold.

A decision on the retail sale of the drug was taken at a meeting chaired by Union Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad on September 14 in the wake of the virus claiming over 200 lives.

The select pharmacists can procure the drug from six companies -- Ranbaxy, Cipla, Metco, Hetero, Strides and Roche -- which have the permission to manufacture the medicine.

Every manufacturer will submit to the Drugs Controller a monthly statement on the quantity of such drugs supplied by them to distributors, stockists and dealers.