GlaxoSmithKline Plc said it had signed an agreement for Simcere Pharmaceutical Group of Nanjing, China, to make and sell a cheap version of its flu drug Relenza for use in poor countries.

Relenza is an inhaled drug which, like Roche's pill Tamiflu, is seen as a first-line defence in the event of an influenza pandemic triggered by bird flu.

The licensing deal gives Simcere the right to manufacture and sell zanamivir -- the active ingredient in Relenza -- in China, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam and all least developed countries.

Source:佚名