Viragen signs major deal in Taiwan

Viragen and Tradeway, a privately-owned US company which specializes inthe distribution of drugs in Taiwan, have signed a $250 million exclusive purchase and distribution agreement for the treatment of Taiwanese hepatitis C patients.

Tradeway will initially buy $5 million of Viragen's natural alpha interferon drug for use in Taiwan's regulatory process and, upon approval for commercialization, will purchase $50 million-worth of the drug for five consecutive years. Viragen intends to market its drug in Taiwan as Multiferon, and the first shipments of interferon are scheduled to commence during the first half of next year.

Taiwan has a population of 26 million people with over 1.5 million diagnosed with hepatitis C, making it one of the most infected countries in the world. Gerald Smith, Viragen's chief executive, said that the Taiwanese government and Tradeway have recognized the importance of accelerating the delivery of drugs to meet the needs of suffering patients, and his firm has allocated a portion of its interferon production facilities currently being expanded in Umea, Sweden, to help meet Taiwan's needs.