The Shanghai Pharmaceutical Group is negotiating with Swiss pharmaceutical company Roche Holding AG on the production of Tamiflu in China through technology transfer, Minister of Health Gao Qiang said in Beijing Wednesday.

An antiviral drug, Tamiflu does not cure human bird flu but can reduce its severity and might slow the spread of a human pandemic.

Gao said at a press conference that the government was improving its emergency plan for a possible bird flu pandemic, which included the research and development of bird flu vaccine for humans and related drugs.

China's home-made human bird flu vaccine is now undergoing clinical tests.

(Xinhua News Agency December 1, 2005)