msnbc
Governments need to stockpile different sorts of flu drugs — not just Roche Holding AG’s Tamiflu — to counter the danger of resistance in a pandemic triggered by bird flu, British experts said on Wednesday.
The warning could boost demand for GlaxoSmithKline Plc’s inhaled medicine Relenza, which has been largely overlooked in favor of Roche’s more convenient pill. Scientists analyzing the structure of a key flu virus protein found that both H5N1 and seasonal flu could develop resistance to Tamiflu, while still remaining highly susceptible to Relenza.
“What this research shows is that stockpiling any one drug to prepare for a potential H5N1 pandemic is unlikely to provide adequate cover,” said Steve Gamblin of the National Institute for Medical Research in London.
Read more
Tags: bird flu pandemic, Multiple meds
