Is Tamiflu Effective Against Avian Flu?

There's been very little informed news coverage about the effectiveness of Roche's Tamiflu in curbing avian flu in the 150 or so people who've so far contracted the disease. Yet governments around the world are stockpiling the drug. Roche reports it plans to increase production this year with sales rising to nearly $1 billion, up from under $300 million a year ago. The company has even begun restricting supplies to curtail indivduals who are hoarding the drug.

Yet today's British Medical Journal reports that experts are questioning the drug's effectiveness against avian flu. Joe Collier, professor at St. George's Hospital Medical School in London and former editor of the Drug and Therapeutics Bulletin asks "what evidence there is that Tamiflu actually alters mortality? And if it doesn't then what are we doing? What it certainly does is shorten the illness by a day, but the question is—does that matter?"

The BMJ also reports the latest comment of Canada's federal health minister, Ujjal Dosanjh, who told listeners in an interview on a Canadian Broadcasting Corporation radio program that oseltamivir (Tamiflu) did not prevent infection with the flu virus and that at best it would reduce the severity of the illness."

How many billions for Tamiflu were in the Bush plan? And don't forget that Gilead Pharmaceuticals, which invented the drug, gets royalties for all sales of Tamiflu. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld is the former CEO of Gilead and remains a major stockholder.