Sally Furniss
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Japan to Boost Tamiflu Drug Stockpile After Bird Flu Outbreak
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601202&sid=aPcILry9xoFY&refer=healthcare
By Hiroshi Suzuki
March 6 (Bloomberg) -- Japan ordered more doses of the antiviral drug Tamiflu from Chugai Pharmaceutical Co. to protect people against flu, including the lethal bird-flu virus that killed thousands of poultry in two provinces this year.
Japan's government will spend 6.8 billion yen ($58 million) buying enough Tamiflu to treat an extra 3 million people, the health ministry said in a statement today. That's in addition to existing supplies capable of treating about 25 million of the country's 126 million citizens.
The Asian nation joins the World Health Organization and countries including the U.S. stockpiling Tamiflu in preparation for a potential pandemic sparked by the H5N1 strain of avian influenza. Tamiflu, also known as oseltamivir, is the preferred drug for treating avian flu, the WHO said in May.
Tamiflu is made by Roche Holding AG and sold in Japan by Tokyo-based Chugai, the Swiss company's unit there.
At least 167 of the 277 people known to have been infected with H5N1 since late 2003 have died, the Geneva-based agency said on March 1. Millions could die if H5N1 becomes as contagious as seasonal flu.
No human H5N1 cases have been reported in Japan, where outbreaks in poultry were found in the southern prefectures of Miyazaki and Okayama during the past two months.
The government will spend 300 million yen buying chickens this month to strengthen its ability to produce human vaccines targeting potential pandemic flu strains, the health ministry said.
Fertilized eggs from the chickens will be used to culture virus material that will form the basis of the vaccines. The health ministry is aiming to produce enough shots for 10 million people, it said in the statement.
Vaccines effective against a pandemic virus aren't yet available and shots produced each year for seasonal flu won't protect against pandemic influenza, according to the WHO.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601202&sid=aPcILry9xoFY&refer=healthcare
By Hiroshi Suzuki
March 6 (Bloomberg) -- Japan ordered more doses of the antiviral drug Tamiflu from Chugai Pharmaceutical Co. to protect people against flu, including the lethal bird-flu virus that killed thousands of poultry in two provinces this year.
Japan's government will spend 6.8 billion yen ($58 million) buying enough Tamiflu to treat an extra 3 million people, the health ministry said in a statement today. That's in addition to existing supplies capable of treating about 25 million of the country's 126 million citizens.
The Asian nation joins the World Health Organization and countries including the U.S. stockpiling Tamiflu in preparation for a potential pandemic sparked by the H5N1 strain of avian influenza. Tamiflu, also known as oseltamivir, is the preferred drug for treating avian flu, the WHO said in May.
Tamiflu is made by Roche Holding AG and sold in Japan by Tokyo-based Chugai, the Swiss company's unit there.
At least 167 of the 277 people known to have been infected with H5N1 since late 2003 have died, the Geneva-based agency said on March 1. Millions could die if H5N1 becomes as contagious as seasonal flu.
No human H5N1 cases have been reported in Japan, where outbreaks in poultry were found in the southern prefectures of Miyazaki and Okayama during the past two months.
The government will spend 300 million yen buying chickens this month to strengthen its ability to produce human vaccines targeting potential pandemic flu strains, the health ministry said.
Fertilized eggs from the chickens will be used to culture virus material that will form the basis of the vaccines. The health ministry is aiming to produce enough shots for 10 million people, it said in the statement.
Vaccines effective against a pandemic virus aren't yet available and shots produced each year for seasonal flu won't protect against pandemic influenza, according to the WHO.