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U.K. to double flu-drug stockpile
Good news for Roche and GlaxoSmithKline: The U.K. is planning to double its stockpile of anti-flu meds to prepare for a possible pandemic. The government has secured enough drugs to dose about one-fourth of its population; now it wants to up that fraction, and so it's soliciting proposals from drugmakers who want to fill the gap. Roche, of course, makes Tamiflu, and GSK sells Relenza--the two antivirals governments tend to store against pandemic flu.
As you know, Roche recently introduced a program by which it would set aside Tamiflu for governments and companies that want to secure a supply; the drugmaker would keep the supply within date and ship it out on demand.
Antibiotics makers could benefit from the U.K.'s new stockpiling effort, too. The government plans to store those drugs to help treat complications of the flu, such as pneumonia. A recent study showed that during the last major flu pandemic, in 1918, bacterial illnesses that cropped up in flu patients killed more people than the flu virus did on its own.
- read the story in the Telegraph
Related Articles:
U.S. to boost Tamiflu, Relenza stockpiles
Relenza outperforms Tamiflu in bird flu study
Switzerland to stockpile GSK's bird flu vaccine
Comments (1) | Post a comment
Comments
By miso | Posted 4:34pm | August 7, 2008
"Adverts will be published on Wednesday inviting drug companies to bid for contracts to supply antivirals"
-the Telegraph
What if GSK don't want to sell the U.K. government any Relenza?
Check their track record.
When market share was the deciding factor GSK shut down production, unwilling/unable to compete with Tamiflu.
Now with the threat of a pandemic bird flu that kills over half its victims, and Tamiflu resistant flu strains healthy enough to spring up spontaneously in places Tamiflu hasn't even been used, you'd think Relenza would rival Tamiflu in government stockpiles, especially since Tamiflu resistant flu is treatable with Relenza; but that can't happen if GSK aren't making it, and take every opportunity to steer attention to their cash cow "experimental" influenza vaccines instead.
GSK should be offering enough Relenza to supply all the antiviral for U.K.'s new stockpile top-up, after all, until now that's been Roche's approach resulting in 100% Tamiflu stockpiles worldwide. Instead Roche will offer Tamiflu again, and with the benefit of it's slick new "secure supply" program, and in the absence of any real Relenza supplier, the top-up will be more Tamiflu, increasing the likelihood, and actively selecting for a pandemic strain that sweeps the world, and sweeps through the U.K., that is Tamiflu resistant, but which could have been treated with Relenza,... only there wasn't any.
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