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Tamiflu drug divides opinion

Some doctors say Tamiflu is the best available drug for treating the flu imagepoint

Medical opinion is split over the efficacy of Tamiflu, the widely prescribed influenza drug produced by Swiss pharmaceutical giant Roche.

Around 90 million people have taken Tamiflu over the past decade and sales of the drug have generated billions of francs for Roche. But a leading medical journal and an international healthcare network now say its effectiveness in treating flu complications can’t be entirely proven.

In a scathing article published on Wednesday, the British Medical Journal said there was a lack of publicly available evidence to support its capabilities and Roche had “broken successive pledges to make full study reports available” for more cross-checking.

In parallel, the non-profit Cochrane Collaboration organisation concluded an independent review of studies into Tamiflu. It says there are discrepancies between published papers on Tamiflu and available clinical study data. The drug’s success couldn’t be fully tested and proven because Roche has not released full data from its clinical trials, it says.   

Cochrane says while Tamiflu helps flu sufferers feel better an average of 21 hours quicker after experiencing initial symptoms, it didn’t reduce the number of people who went on to be hospitalised.

The drug has been stockpiled in various countries as a principal way of treating influenza in critical care. The World Health Organization maintains that it will keep Tamiflu on its list of essential drugs, as it takes into account evidence collected on the ground during outbreaks as well as clinical trials.

“Generally good safety”

Tom Jefferson of Cochrane argues that Roche  – although not legally required to – should have given them more data to work with. They were given only part of the clinical study reports – the summary of the study methods and the results. But this was just a quarter of what they had asked for.

“What we want is a complete record,” Jefferson told swissinfo.ch.  

Basel-based Roche insists that it provided ample information. In an emailed statement to swissinfo.ch, a spokesman wrote: “Roche provided the Cochrane group with access to 3,200 pages of very detailed information, enabling their questions to be answered.”

“Extensive clinical research and real-life experience show that Tamiflu has a generally good safety and tolerability profile.”

Flu fighter

Tamiflu, known generically as oseltamivir, was used extensively to combat avian flu in 2005 and swine flu in 2009-2010.

According to Roche, data from the 2009 pandemic showed Tamiflu was “effective and well-tolerated, reduces the risk of complications, intensive care unit admission, length of stay in hospital and improves the chance of survival”.

“We stand behind the robustness and integrity of our data supporting the efficacy and safety of Tamiflu.”

Jefferson says however that the performance during the 2009 pandemic was based on “very sketchy … sporadic studies”.

“Formal clinical trials are the best source of evidence and effectiveness and safety of the drug.”

Tried and true

Despite this backlash, oseltamivir still has its supporters. Pascal Meylan of Vaud university hospital’s institute of microbiology told swissinfo.ch that while he was not familiar with the Cochrane report, he found it to be a good drug, and that it proved its usefulness during the 2009-2010 pandemic.

“On the one hand obviously I wonder what exactly is the problem with the Cochrane Collaboration study accessing data from Roche. But on the other hand I think this is an effective drug and this is the best we have for the time being to treat influenza and I think it would be a pity not to use these drugs.”

However, what he emphasises is how important it is to take it early enough – within the first 48 hours of catching the flu. “I would propose it to people, looking very carefully at the timing. There are very few adverse effects.”

He added that by nature independent verifiers were bound to be demanding and “cut evidence to the bone”.

“There may be a problem here but to dismiss the drug outright would be to throw the baby out with the bathwater.” 

Next round

But that’s not good enough, according to Jefferson. He’s incensed that government money has gone into stockpiling a drug, the efficacy and safety of which is questionable.

“As a physician, if I prescribe a drug I want to know how it works, what it interacts with.”

Cochrane researchers found little evidence to support all the manufacturer’s published claims but they did pick up unpublished evidence of nausea as a side-effect.

“I would be very cautious about using drugs for which there is uncertain evidence,” Jefferson commented.

He says the ball is now in the court of the European Medicines Agency (EMA), as it has the legal right to reopen the “Tamiflu file” and look at all the evidence. 

The EMA told swssinfo.ch that it had discussed the Cochrane review and concluded that it did not contain any new data on Tamiflu and that the benefits continued to outweigh its risks. 

In May 2009 the WHO requested stockpiles of Tamiflu to tackle what it termed a global pandemic of the H1N1 swine flu. Roche’s sales that year went through the roof, racking up SFr3.2 billion in 2009.

The pandemic was officially declared over in 2010, and together with a relatively mild flu season and the completion of most government stockpiling orders, this led to a sharp drop in Tamiflu sales. Roche reported SFr873 million sales of the product in 2010, and SFr301 million by September 2011 (year-end figures still to be released).

Roche reported in 2009 that two new studies showed increased survival rates in Tamiflu-treated patients with avian flu and severe seasonal flu. It said 53% of patients with avian flu infection survived when treated with Tamiflu compared with 12% of untreated patients. Rate of death was reduced by 37% in high-risk patients with severe seasonal flu compared with no treatment.

According to Roche, Tamiflu was designed to be active against all clinically relevant influenza viruses. It works by blocking the action of the neuraminidase enzyme on the surface of the virus. When neuraminidase is inhibited, the spread of the virus to other cells in the body is inhibited as well. Tamiflu is indicated for the treatment and prevention of uncomplicated influenza.

A bout of flu can last up to 10 days.

The flu virus is easily transmitted by coughs and sneezes, particularly in closed spaces, and by hand contact.

Even people who do not have any typical flu symptoms can pass on the virus. There is a particularly high risk of transmission in hospitals and care homes.

Flu can lead to complications in older people, new born babies, people with certain chronic illnesses, pregnant women and mothers who have recently given birth.

Every year between 100,000 and 300,000 people go to their family doctor with flu-like symptoms.

Between about 1,000 and 5,000 need to be hospitalised each year because of complications – such things as pneumonia or other bacterial infections, or breathing difficulties.

Between 400 and 1,000 people die every year as a consequence of flu.

(Source: Federal Health Office)

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SWI swissinfo.ch - a branch of Swiss Broadcasting Corporation SRG SSR