Ras Al Khaimah: The Ministry of Health has approved the request of the Gulf Pharmaceutical Industries (Julphar) to produce its own Flufly (Julphar's version of the anti-viral Tamiflu) to cope with the increasing regional demand for this drug.

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Abdul Razzaq Al Yousuf, the Managing Director of Julphar, said his company will produce the medication which will be in the market in a matter of a few days and will give it to the Arab countries which have requested it within one to two weeks.

He added that the licences of the Ministry of Industry and Commerce should be issued for Julphar at the earliest to provide the necessary quantities of the product for the government of Kuwait and other GCC and Arab countries which may require this drug.

Al Yousuf said the governments of Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and Egypt have officially requested huge quantities of this product from Julphar and urged the company to produce this product as soon as possible, while negotiations are still underway with Algeria.

He stressed that many countries are in urgent need of the drug and Julphar will be able to produce it only after obtaining the necessary permission from the UAE authorities.