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June 09, 2003

INTERNATIONAL IMMUNIZATION NEWS

“Flu Drugs Expensive and More Evidence Needed—Study”

Reuters (www.reuters.com) (06/06/03); Reaney, Patricia

Although Roche's Tamiflu and GlaxoSmithKline's Relenza--two neuraminidase inhibitors which work by blocking the action of viral enzymes--reduced the likelihood of contracting influenza, researchers are demanding further studies to prove that the drugs are effective in preventing the illness in high-risk groups, such as children and seniors.  Researchers report in the British Medical Journal that the drugs reduced the risk of contracting the flu by 70 percent to 90 percent.  However in a commentary accompanying the study, Klaus Stohr, the project leader of the World Health Organization Influenza Program, asserts that annual influenza shots are the best defense against the illness, noting that neuraminidase inhibitors can complement the vaccine.  Stohr notes that the drugs are expensive, costing almost $40 in Britain for a single course of treatment, and he contends that the lack of efficacy information for the drugs in the groups most affected by the flu limits their use.