To state that the drugs are not suitable for routine influenza control is entirely inappropriate, is inconsistent with regulatory opinions worldwide and is not supported by the data.

One of the issues faced in determining the background for any incident is determining the potential contribution of a drug or the contribution of the underlying illness.

It presents a difficult target for clinical investigation.

We are pleased to announce the partnership with Hetero Drugs as the latest step in our scale-up efforts to meet the needs of governments in preparing for the potential public health threat posed by avian influenza.

Given where we are, with the potential for a pandemic, the clearest vision we can have is to dramatically increase the availability of this drug and make all information available.

As a result of a period of intense production planning, we are pleased to announce the partnership with Hetero Drugs as the latest step in our scale-up efforts to meet the needs of governments in preparing for the potential public health threat posed by avian influenza.

One of the very important things to point out here is that we are not dealing with a human pandemic strain yet, thank goodness.

Companies we identified to take the capacity further will therefore allow Roche's supply network to respond to future demands from world governments.