admin @ Tue, 2005-10-25 12:46
A higher-than-normal increase in demand has forced the Canadian drug maker for Tamiflu to temporarily pull it off the market, amid growing concerns over an imminent flu pandemic.
Oseltamivir, sold as Tamiflu, is an antiviral medication that is widely considered to be the best defence against the spread of a bird flu pandemic.
Under the heading of "urgent," Roche Canada sent a letter to Canadian pharmacies informing them that shipments will end immediately until December, when flu season begins, The Globe and Mail reports.
When flu season begins, nursing homes and other institutions will get priority, the letter says.
"Roche Canada has decided to proactively manage the Tamiflu inventory," it says in the letter obtained by The Globe.
"This flu season, the company will prioritize distribution of Tamiflu to those patients most at risk of developing serious influenza-related complications once the influenza season begins."
Coalition of Manitoba Pharmacies President Lothar Dueck told the newspaper he believes Internet pharmacies, which ship across Canada and to the United States, are partly responsible for the increase in sales.
However, those claims were disputed by Andy Troszok, president of the Canadian International Pharmacy Association.
Internet, or mail-order, pharmacies have seen only a 5 per cent increase in Tamiflu sales, he told The Globe.
Federal Health Minister Ujjal Dosanjh has said drug companies may be forced to share their patents if increased drug production were to become necessary.
Dosanjh has noted some countries are openly threatening to defy Swiss drug giant Hoffman-La Roche and start making generic versions of the drug.
Last week, Hoffman-La Roche agreed to enter into discussions with any third party that felt it had the capacity to start production on a generic version of Tamiflu.
On Monday, the company issued a warning to those nations threatening to make their own versions of the drug.
"Since we have been making this drug for the last 10 years, it would be best for countries to enter into a discussion with us."
Whether there is enough Tamiflu for Canadians will be part of the discussion at the international meeting on pandemic preparedness, which is in its second day in Ottawa, Dosanjh said Tuesday.
"We need to be looking at other possible antivirals, we need to be looking at the capacity to manufacture antivirals in times of need, and (the) capacity to both manufacture and actually create new vaccines around the world, because there is a shortage," he said, appearing on CTV's Canada AM.
"If we need to, in an emergency, deal with these issues, we have the capacity to do so -- other countries have the same.
"I think it's important that we recognize that we need to work with those that own the intellectual property, but in the case of a disaster or emergency, all options can be opened depending on governments."
According to a Public Health Agency of Canada official who spoke to The Globe, the federal, provincial and territorial governments in Canada have stockpiled 35 million Tamiflu pills in total.
A recent report shows a Vietnamese girl who came down with the H5N1 avian flu strain appears to have shown resistance to Tamiflu.
The news prompted concerns that Canada's first line of attack may not be effective, if bird flu were to develop into a human pandemic.
Health officials have warned Tamiflu can't be considered the only answer to the pandemic threat, as the virus could develop resistance to the drug once large numbers of people begin to take it.
Meanwhile, a new poll indicates that 44 per cent of Canadians are aware of the drug, compared to 40 per cent who aren't.
The poll conducted for CTV and The Globe and Mail also found that Canadians remain unsure whether Tamiflu will provide to be an effective means of treating any possible avian flu outbreak.
So far, avian flu is easily transmitted between birds but is difficult for humans to contract.
Experts are closely monitoring its spread for fear it could mutate into a form easily transmitted between humans and cause a pandemic that could kill millions.
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