U.S. Tamiflu demand spikes amid bird flu fears
Key points
- U.S. demand for Tamiflu appears to be surging, industry experts said on Thursday, suggesting some people are hoarding the antiviral drug amid fears of a bibird fluandemic.
- "In addition to that, we're concerned about the misuse of personal stockpiles," she added.
- "The number of Tamiflu prescriptions continues to increase with little or no reports of flu," said Raulo Frear, vice president of clinical evaluation and policy for pharmacy benefits manager Express Scripts Inc.
- Tamiflu maker Roche Holding AG said on Thursday it was suspending deliveries of the antiviral drug to the United States until it actually sees increased incidence of seasonal flu due to fears consumers would deplete stocks by hoarding the drug at home.
U.S. demand for Tamiflu appears to be surging, industry experts said on Thursday, suggesting some people are hoarding the antiviral drug amid fears of a bibird fluandemic.
"The number of Tamiflu prescriptions continues to increase with little or no reports of flu," said Raulo Frear, vice president of clinical evaluation and policy for pharmacy benefits manager Express Scripts Inc.
Tamiflu maker Roche Holding AG said on Thursday it was suspending deliveries of the antiviral drug to the United States until it actually sees increased incidence of seasonal flu due to fears consumers would deplete stocks by hoarding the drug at home.
More than 67,000 Tamiflu prescriptions were dispensed at U.S. retail pharmacies in the week ending Oct. 21, according to health care information collector Verispan. That is nearly quadruple the demand from the same week last year.
Tamiflu is an antiviral agent used to treat the flu (Influenza A and B) in patients who have had symptoms for no more than 2 days.
TAMIFLU (TAM-ih-flew) is a medicine to treat flu (infection caused by influenza virus). It belongs to a group of medicines called neuraminidase inhibitors. These medications attack the influenza virus and prevent it from spreading inside your body. TAMIFLU treats flu at its source by attacking the virus that causes the flu, rather than simply masking symptoms. Each TAMIFLU capsule (grey/light yellow) contains 75 mg of active drug and should be taken by mouth.
Prescriptions for GlaxoSmithKline Plc's flu drug Relenza have also shot up, Verispan said, although the number of prescriptions is minuscule compared to Tamiflu.
Walgreen Co. pharmacies have seen more Tamiflu prescriptions in the past month than in the same period a year ago, said company spokesman Michael Polzin.
"It is up significantly," Polzin said, adding that some stocks in their warehouses were beginning to run low.
Roche expressed concern that consumers fearing a pandemic caused by bird flu would try to stockpile the drug, which is needed to treat normal seasonal flu.
Dr. Kathy Neuzil, who heads the pandemic influenza task force for the Infectious Diseases Society of America, said the organization advises against personal stockpiles.
"There is no pandemic right now and the use of personal stockpiles would adversely affect the supply of antivirals for seasonal influenza," Neuzil said.
HOARDING FEARED
"In addition to that, we're concerned about the misuse of personal stockpiles," she added.
Neuzil said the U.S. flu season generally starts in January, but the virus is unpredictable and variable. Two years ago, she said, the flu arrived in some places in late October.
Written and revised by
Andrey Nailor, M.D.
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