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Governments Cracking Down on Internet Tamiflu Sales

November 26, 2005

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As supplies of the antiviral drug Tamiflu dry up, governments are cracking down on Web sites that sell the drug illegally and warning consumers against ordering prescription drugs from illicit sites.

In Maine, the state licensing board suspended the license of 76-year-old Dr. Virginia Biddle, a retired internist and family practitioner who had allegedly written prescriptions for Web sites selling Tamiflu and other medications.

The board said it acted out of concern for public safety but Biddle called the decision "completely unfair" and said she will appeal. Biddle said most of the prescriptions she handled came from Web sites in Canada.

In Europe, health officials are becoming concerned that the fast-spreading avian flu virus will become resistant to Tamiflu. Laws differ from one country to the next, however. The Netherlands have a more permissive attitude towards the commercialization of medicinal products via the internet, whereas France has a more restrictive approach, a recent policy paper noted.

In New Zealand, supplies of the drug are especially tight because of heightened demand as the flu season begins in the Northern Hemisphere. Thousands of prescriptions will be left unfilled after drug manufacturer Roche Products said no new supplies would be made available to New Zealanders for many months.

The government warned New Zealanders against buying illegal stocks of Tamiflu over the Internet. Hundreds of illegal batches of the drug have already been intercepted at borders.

Medsafe principal technical adviser Stewart Jessamine said Tamiflu was a prescription medicine and it was illegal for individuals to import prescription medicines. "If a medicine is not obtained through a lawful chain of distribution there can be no assurances that the medicine is what it says it is, or that its quality and safety have not been compromised."

Roche spokesman Stuart Knight also warned the public to be "very, very careful" buying Tamiflu on the internet, not only because it could be stopped at the border but also because the medicine may not be genuine.

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