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Roche Suspends Tamiflu Shipments to U.S. Wholesalers

October 27, 2005

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Roche has suspended shipments of its antiviral drug Tamiflu to U.S. wholesalers to be sure that it has enough treatments available for the regular winter flu season. The suspension does not affect shipments to the U.S. government, the Swiss pharmaceutical company said.

Tamiflu is one of four drugs that can help relieve flu symptoms. While most healthy individuals can manage the flu on their own, the elderly and those with chronic conditions are often given Tamiflu or another antiviral drug.

While there is no flu now circulating, the onset of cold weather usually marks the start of the winter flu season. There are also fears this year that the bird flu now circulating in Asia and parts of Europe could turn into a global pandemic if the virus mutates and become transmissible from one human to another.

Currently, the bird flu is spread among birds and, occasionally, from birds to humans. It is not spread among humans.

Many American physicians have reported that their patients have been pressing them to write Tamiflu prescriptions, even though the patients are not sick but want to have the medication on hand in the event of a pandemic.

In China, meanwhile, the government said it is taking new measures to prevent the spread of bird flu. The official Xinhua News Agency quoted Premier Wen Jiabao as saying there has been "massive culling of domestic poultry" and strict quarantines to stop the spread of the deadly H5N1 bird flu strain.

In Vietnam, where more than 40 people have died of the H5N1 strain, the government says it may produce its own generic version of Tamiflu if it can't reach a licensing agreement with Roche. Vietnamese officials said they were negotiating with Roche but would go ahead on their own if necessary. Vietnam said it has enough Tamiflu on hand to treat only 60,000 of its 8.2 million people.

Bird flu has killed at least 62 people and resulted in the deaths of tens of millions of chickens in Asia since surfacing in 2003. Public health officials say the virus has killed about half the humans it has infected -- a very high mortality rate.

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