JAKARTA, March 1 (Reuters) - Indonesia is set to resume sharing bird flu virus samples with the World Health Organisation (WHO) under an interim deal that ensures they are not used for commercial purposes, the health minister said on Thursday. In a controversial move, Jakarta declared last month it had stopped sharing H5N1 samples with the WHO. The two sides then struck a deal on Feb. 16 to resume sharing samples, but under a new framework to give developing nations access to vaccines. Health Minister Siti Fadillah Supari said that WHO director general Margaret Chan had accommodated Indonesia's interests. "WHO will send a letter which guarantees that virus samples sent by Indonesia will only be used for reassesment (diagnostic) and not for commercial purposes," the minister told a national meeting on bird flu in the capital. She said that companies that wanted samples would have to make a request directly to Indonesia. "Once we get the letter. We can start sending our bird flu samples until the right mechanism is put in place." WHO official David Heymann told reporters last month that there would be a meeting of health ministers from the Asia Pacific region and select countries in March to look into the new mechanism. Indonesia had previously said it had restricted sharing samples with foreign laboratories because it was unfair for foreign drug firms to use the samples, design vaccines, patent them and sell the product back to the country. The issue has sparked debate in the medical community with some health and aid agencies condemning Indonesia for refusing to share samples, while others defended the stance because developing countries often struggle to get access to life-saving drugs due to patent laws and high costs. Sharing of virus samples is crucial as it allows experts to study their make-up and map the evolution and geographical spread of any particular strain. Samples are also used to make vaccines. Indonesia last month signed a preliminary agreement with a unit of pharmaceutical firm Baxter International Inc. Under the pact, the health ministry's research and development institute will supply the U.S. firm specimens of H5N1; Baxter will provide technology to help develop a vaccine.
