“Tamiflu is Under Scrutiny”
Some flu products are questionable for effectiveness and possible harm. Such is the case for Tamiflu. The oseltamivir (Tamiflu, Roche/Genentech/Gilead) story has considerable missing information. In 2009, sales of the blockbuster flu drug, Tamiflu, reached $3 billion. The European Medicines Agency had begun a so-called ‘infringement proceeding’ against the drug maker, Roche, for allegedly failing to properly report the side effects of 19 drugs being used by U.S. patients. Tamiflu was one of those drugs. British authorities noticed “serious shortcomings” in how Roche AG reported potential side effects of 80,000 consumers and of these, there were reports of over 15,000 deaths. Still, it was unclear if those deaths were caused by Roche medicines. The bitter fight over the flu drug, Tamiflu, has led to calls for a boycott of the Swiss drug maker’s products and the campaign to force Roche’s hand has been backed by the respected British Medical Journal. Some have decided that Tamiflu, as a flu-fighter, just isn’t all that effective.
