Coronavirus, the parliament: forcing Roche to give up the formula for swabs. The answer: it's on the internet

During today's debate in the House, MPs heatedly debated Roche's alleged decision not to reveal the recipe for a key liquid for coronavirus test swabs. Based on the revelations made public by the portal Follow The Money, the Swiss company can't keep up to the high demand for the liquid but at the same time does not want to give up the formula, writes FTM.

MPs asked the minister to get that recipe by hook or by crook:

With a so-called compulsory license, the government can force pharmacists to temporarily share the formula of medicines, so that other parties can also produce them.

The Swiss pharmaceutical company Roche, in a conversation with NOS, replied that the recipe for a liquid needed for testing can be found on the Internet. “The recipe you are talking about is a general recipe known to microbiologists. They are free to develop the liquid”, a Roche spokesman said.

However, for safety, quality and reliability, Roche recommends purchasing the fluid from the company. “We cannot guarantee quality and reliability outside the Roche environment,” the press office told NOS. Since there are many requests, the Swiss company cannot guarantee the immediacy of delivery of orders.

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