A manufacturer of a key bird flu drug has reported a boost in sales as countries stock up.

Roche, whose sales and marketing base is in Lewes, said sales of Tamiflu, which is seen as the best treatment for bird flu, soared to £122 million in its third quarter.

The figure more than doubles is normal sales - boosted by stockpiling of the drug ahead of a threatened pandemic.

A number of countries, including the UK, have been stockpiling the antiviral drug, helping Roche report a 17 per cent hike in group revenues in the three months to the end of September.

Roche, a Swiss firm, employs 1,800 staff in the UK, many of whom are based at the marketing department at Lewes.

The firm produces more than 100 million capsules of Tamiflu a year and has already expanded its production capacity several times. It said that it would take action to further boost production.

Since 2003, around 120 people worldwide have been diagnosed with the potentially lethal H5N1 bird flu strain, leading to 60 deaths.

Experts believe it is inevitable that a pandemic will emerge and could kill more than 50,000 people in the UK alone.

In March, the Department of Health announced the purchase of 14.6 million courses of Tamiflu. Broker Merrill Lynch said the Tamiflu sales figures were ahead of its forecasts.

Worldwide, Roche employs around 65,000 staff in 150 countries.

Thursday, October 20, 2005