SHOULD countries continue to stockpile the flu drug Tamiflu in case there is a pandemic? Until now many governments have been happy to do so. But as stockpiles reach their “replace by” dates, cash-strapped politicians may be having second thoughts.
Their uncertainty may be being fuelled by a campaign against Tamiflu (oseltamivir), motivated by the entirely reasonable beef that manufacturer Roche has not released all of its clinical trial data.
Roche says it is now prepared to open up, which is progress. But a vociferous group of critics seems to have decided that the evidence to be released is unlikely to justify stockpiling the drug.
That is premature at best. The unreleased results concern ordinary winter flu, which Tamiflu may not be too much use against. But the stockpiles are there to combat a fiercer pandemic virus. There is now evidence that the drug saved lives during the 2009 swine flu pandemic (see “Evidence that Tamiflu reduces deaths in pandemic flu“).
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It is reasonable to demand that the data be released, and Roche should get a move on. By the same token, critics should not reach conclusions based on irrelevant evidence. And governments should continue to stockpile.
This article appeared in print under the headline “Keep taking the pills”
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