NEW DELHI, OCTOBER 21 Indian generic firms might finally be able to manufacture Tamiflu, the key anti-viral for the feared bird flu pandemic. In a statement, Roche AG, the Swiss pharmaceutical giant that holds patent for the drug, said it’s ready to license the drug to generic companies across the world.

Roche has agreed to meet with four generic drug companies including domestic pharma giant Ranbaxy Laboratories to discuss allowing them to manufacture the anti-influenza drug Tamiflu (Oseltamivir), which is in short supply, as countries stockpile it to prepare for a possible flu pandemic.

Besides Ranbaxy, Roche said it’s ready to talk to Teva Pharmaceutical Industries, Barr Pharmaceuticals and Mylan Laboratories. As fears of the pandemic mount, the generic company wanted to start production to meet the drug’s surging demand. However, Cipla, which had first expressed desire to manufacture the drug’s generic version, does not figure in Roche’s plans.

While Cipla had said the company was capable of bringing the product in the market by the beginning of 2006, the Indian government had set up a committee to look into the possibility of giving emergency license to Indian generic companies. Under WTO TRIPS Agreement, the emergency license allows a non-patent holder pharma company to manufacture patented drugs in case of an emergency declared by the government.

Confirming Roche’s move, Ramesh L. Adige, ED for Corporate Affairs, Ranbaxy, told The Indian Express that the company had written a letter to Roche expressing its desire to manufacture the drug. ‘‘Oseltamivir has been on our API product list on Ranbaxy website for a year. It is a complex molecule but we have a strong R&D team which has achieved the multiple step chemical synthesis process of the molecule,’’ he said.