New Analysis Challenges Tamiflu Efficacy

[Shiloh]

Source: http://www.medpagetoday.com/tbindex.cfm?tbid=30727

New Analysis Challenges Tamiflu Efficacy
By Michael Smith, North American Correspondent, MedPage Today
Published: January 17, 2012
Reviewed by Robert Jasmer, MD; Associate Clinical Professor of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco.

A new review of the influenza drug oseltamivir (Tamiflu) has raised questions about both the efficacy of the medication and the commitment of its maker to supply enough data for claims about the drug to be evaluated by independent experts.

It also raises questions about the entire process of systematic review...

 

[Shiloh]

Re: New Analysis Challenges Tamiflu Efficacy

Source: http://news.sky.com/home/world-news/article/16151261

Doctors Raise Doubts Over Pandemic Flu Drug
Roche Pharmaceuticals has denied the drug's side effects were under-reported

12:25am UK, Wednesday January 18, 2012

Thomas Moore, health correspondent
Doctors have questioned the effectiveness and safety of the main drug used to treat pandemic flu.

International experts said the drug cuts the duration of symptoms, but they found no clear evidence that it reduced the number of patients needing hospital treatment.

They also claim that side effects from the drug were "possibly under-reported."

Roche Pharmaceuticals denies the allegations...

 

[Laidback Al]

Re: New Analysis Challenges Tamiflu Efficacy

International experts said the drug cuts the duration of symptoms, but they found no clear evidence that it reduced the number of patients needing hospital treatment.

I am not sure about cutting the duration of symptoms, but it seems to me that a great many survivors who contracted H5N1 are alive today because of oseltamivir.

 

[Vibrant62]

Re: New Analysis Challenges Tamiflu Efficacy

Comment: It is worth noting:-
a) that most tamiflu usage is frequently in response to a severe infection (even though the label usage recommends otherwise) so it isnt too surprising that there is no clear evidence of reduced hospital admissions; some studies have indicated cases where hospital admissions occur in a patient who has been treated within the 24hr day disease onset timeframe, because a resistant strain has emerged within the patient. Without this level of analysis and patient exclusions, it will be hard to draw definive conclusions either way.
b) tamiflu cuts viral load (in sensitive viruses) which reduces the strength of immune responses, which, as science is increasingly beginning to understand, are the part of the disease process that causes the most severe of influenza symptoms
c) however imperfect, at the moment its all we have to fight and contain severe outbreaks (and tamiflu usuage has been used effectively in H5N1 outbreak areas to date)
d) that as we now know that viral resistance can and does emerge and the resultant virus can transmit (@100% tamiflu resistance emerged during the 2007 - 2008 H1N1 flu season), it should be reserved for use in those who are particularly vulnerable to flu or for particularly severe flu outbreaks, rather than as a widespread intervention for non-serious or seasonal flu.

What is true and clear is that we need additional and better interventions for the future. It is also very poor that Roche have failed to release all data on request - thats the bigger issue here, that needs rectifying.